


Sheep Among Wolves

by MissOh



Series: Sheep Among Wolves [1]
Category: DEAN (Korean Musician), EXO, EXO (Band)
Genre: Alcohol, Angel Zhang Yi Xing | Lay, Angst, Bad Boy Kim Jongin | Kai, Build up, Established Relationship, I Don't Even Know, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Kim Jongdae | Chen is a Little Shit, M/M, Mafia AU, Mild Language, Minor Violence, Murder Mystery, No Smut, Not Smut Just Spicy At Times, OT12 - Freeform, References to Drugs, Relationship(s), Sassy Kim Jongdae | Chen, Some Fluff, Strippers & Strip Clubs, Zhang Yi Xing | Lay-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-04
Updated: 2017-08-27
Packaged: 2018-12-11 02:45:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 50,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11705175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissOh/pseuds/MissOh
Summary: Lay always was one to keep his nose clean, despite barely being able to scrape by. But, being a witness to a murder tends to change all of that.The victim had been part of an organized crime family. The crime syndicate wants their revenge and only Lay knows who committed said murder.Unfortunately, he doesn't remember it at all. So, he's left navigating the criminal underworld after getting blindly thrown into it head first.





	1. Accidents

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Tonight, I don’t know why, but I feel strange, oh no._   
>  _A silhouette suddenly appearing in the faint light and my body freezes..._
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> (Feel free to put yourself in the place of the nurse. ;] )

“He’ll be discharged tomorrow.”  
“What of the accident?”  
“What of it?”  
“Does he remember?”  
“No.”  
“Are you certain?”  
“Yes.”  
“ _He_ won’t be happy to hear that.”  
“His mood won’t change the facts.”

A groan came from the man who was dressed in a nicely tailored suit. His hand came up to pinch at the bridge of his nose to try and hide the scowl that wanted to make an appearance. The doctor across from him seemed rather apathetic to all of this. But, this news complicated everything even further. With a frustrated sigh he let go of his nose and that same hand reached out to grab the clipboard on the desk. He proceeded to flip through all of the papers on it, only for him to let them fall back to the first page. 

“No emergency contact?”  
“No, seems like he’s all alone here.”

A finger tapped on the paper in thought as dark eyes looked over his personal information. A photo of the boy in question was on the page, clearly a copy from his ID. Such a shame a cute boy got tangled up in all of this.

“Suho, how are you feeling?”

Surprised, the man looked up from the paperwork, but quickly his eyes narrowed, suspicious of the doctor’s intentions here. 

“I’m doing my job. So, I suggest you keep your inane prodding to yourself.”  
“We all go through grief differently.”

The clipboard was suddenly slammed back on the table, making the doctor almost jump out of his white coat.

“We mourned together, as a family does. Leave it be.”  
“Yes, but-”  
“Enough. When the boy gets discharged tomorrow inform him transportation has been arranged for him. One of our own will pick him up.”  
“He can’t give you answers.”  
“Am I understood?”

Suno stood up, while he wasn’t the tallest man in the world he still managed to intimidate the doctor into giving a firm nod and a “Yes sir.” But, maybe that was his cold tone of voice. He never needed to raise his voice like some of the others. When Suho spoke, typically people listened. Especially when his tone went a pitch lower. 

\--------------------

An arguably cute young man buttoned the final button on his blue button up shirt when there was a knock at the door. “Come in!” His cheery tone called out since he finished getting ready. Being in his own clothes again felt so great! Hospital gowns and scrubs felt like they sucked his life away.

“Good afternoon, Lay~” The cute little nurse came into the room with a big smile on her face, as she typically did. Some nurses were mean, some didn’t really care, but some were so sweet and caring. This woman was one of them. She managed to always make Lay smile. 

“Good afternoon!” He beamed at her as she entered the room finally.  
“Are you excited to be going home?”  
“Ah, yes ma’am!”  
“I’m glad! Although.. I think I’m going to miss having you on my rounds. Who’s going to threaten me with pillow fights in the evenings?”

A shy smile appeared on Lay’s face as he glanced down for a moment, a pinkish color appearing on his cheeks. “Ah, surely you can find someone to be a handful.”

“Hm. Maybe.” 

The two were both very silent for a moment. Lay’s heart was racing some due to the nerves collecting in his stomach. 

“Say..” 

His eyes snapped up to her as she started to speak.

“Do you want to get coffee sometime?” Lay did not realize he spoke until he blurted his thoughts out. His eyes widened at the realization of this, but the girl’s eyes widened as well, shocked at the outburst. It was her turn to get a pinkish color on her cheeks. “I mean-.. If you don’t want to we don’t have to! It’s up to you, ah-..”

“I’d like that.”  
“What..?”

He blinked as he watched her pull a notepad out of one of her scrubs’ pockets and begin writing on it. Then she stepped across the room and handed him the note. 

“There’s my number.” She declared as shaky hands took the little paper from her. He looked down at it, as if he was memorizing the number. He couldn’t believe that worked! 

“I shouldn’t keep you. Your transportation is waiting at the main entrance downstairs and I have other patients to check up on. But.. I wanted to say goodbye, Lay. I’m glad I did.” 

Lay’s cheeks were furiously red now. But, he swallowed and finally looked back up at the lovely woman with a bright smile, showing off the dimple she told him was so cute. “Thank you!” He gave her a bow in response and she returned the gesture. Then she waved before leaving the room. He could not take his eyes off of her. So, it was only until she was out of sight that he realized what transpired.

“Oh. My. God.”

His eyes went back to the paper in his hands as he started to laugh in disbelief. “Yes!” He exclaimed and threw a fist in the air. When he looked up at the open door once again he saw another nurse staring at him as if he was crazy. “Oh! Sorry!” He apologized rubbing the back of his head, causing the nurse to shrug and continue on their way. 

They didn't get paid enough to deal with any extra doses of crazy. 

It was then that Lay decided it was best to get his backpack and leave. Once the backpack was on his shoulders, which did make him wince since he was still a little tender from his injuries, he carefully folded the note and put it in his jeans’ back pocket. 

His feet carried him downstairs. He didn’t realize the hospital provided transportation. It made him scratch at his brown hair as he walked through the busy hallways. How did a general hospital end up being so fancy?! 

If only he knew.

“Mr. Lay?”

Lay wandered outside and jumped when someone spoke to him. He turned to see a man in probably the most expensive blue suit he’s ever seen in his life. “Ah.. Yes! Can I help you?” Lay really didn’t have a single idea how he knew his name or why he was trying to talk to him. But the only slightly shorter man seemed rather amused by his response.

“It’s the other way around, really. I’m your driver.”  
“What?”

“Baekhyun.” He extended his hand to Lay who hesitantly took it and shook it. How could someone so fancy be _his_ driver??? When the man turned to gesture at the car they’d be taking Lay’s jaw dropped. The black Rolls Royce did not have a spot on it. 

_“Ohhhh_ , no. I can’t ride in that.”  
“Why not?”  
“It’s more expensive than my entire net worth, and probably the worth of my organs, all combined.” 

This earned him a handsome laugh from the other young man. “Well, today you can ride like king then. Hm?” It was then that this Baekhyun opened one of the back doors and gestured for him to get inside.

Lay frowned, but with a groan he went to get into the car. He was very careful to make sure he did not scuff any of the leather or get dirt on any of the seats. The door was shut for him and he buckled his seat belt as the other man went to get in the driver’s seat. Lay was quick to give him his address and Baekhyun nodded, yet he did not put it in a GPS system, not one that he could see anyways. Perhaps he knew the city by heart! That’d be impressive.

During the drive he occupied himself with putting the nurse’s number into his phone. Then he proceeded to go through his emails. He shouldn’t have done that. He should’ve focused on the pretty nurse. The accident he was in cost him so much. He was laid off of his job since he was out of work for so long recovering. He was going to lose his apartment, especially considering how much the medical bills were going to cost. 

He had nowhere else to go. 

He locked his phone and dropped it into his backpack before covering his face with both of his hands. Lay couldn’t see Baekhyun’s eyes looking at him in the rearview mirror. 

_Holy shit._

What if they charge him for this ride?!?!

“Please pull over.” Lay requested through his hands, “I can walk the rest of the way.” 

A chuckle came from the man in the driver’s seat. “Relax. We’re almost there.”

Lay groaned into his hands before he removed them so he could finally look out the heavily tinted window. It was only then that he realized he didn’t have a clue where on Earth he was at. They were in the rich side of the city. The side of the city he never visited before. 

“Where are we going?” Lay’s voice was shaking, he was scared. Baekhyun must’ve heard it.  
“Easy, kid. We have a stop to make. You’ll be fine.” 

Lay found the last part hard to believe, but the doors were locked and he was not brave enough to attack his driver. “I’m not a kid..” He muttered, earning him another laugh from the driver. But, he was right! The two must’ve been around the same age after all. 

A few minutes later they arrived at the biggest mansion Lay has ever seen in his entire life. There were guards _at the gate_ to the property and then _more_ at the doors! He marveled at the home through the window. His wonder overrode his fear in the moment. Suddenly the car stopped and Baekhyun was getting out of the car and opening the door to the back seat so Lay could get out.

Slowly, Lay got out, making sure he grabbed his backpack as he went. 

Baekhyun led him through the maze of a home until they reached two large double doors. They were pushed open for the two by more guards. In the room was a long wooden table with nine seats. In the very middle seat sat a man that caused Lay’s hair to stand on end. His dark eyes burrowed into Lay as if they could see every facet of his life and past life. It made Lay swallow back and force himself to look to the others. 

To the left of the man sat another man who looked oddly familiar to Lay. Yet.. He couldn’t place how he knew the black haired man. He was not as intimidating as the man next to him. He looked more welcoming at least. 

To the right of the scary man sat a blond young man, who was the least intimidating of them all. He actually wore a bright smile on his face. Further to the right was a brunet who looked younger than he truly was due to his soft face, but a coldly serious expression hardened it. 

Lay’s eyes snapped back to the blond as he was quickly getting out of his seat to come around the table, but no one else moved or spoke. 

_Ohhhhkay.._ This was weird and Lay looked over his shoulder at Baekhyun for help. He wanted to leave now.

“Thank you, Baekhyun. You are excused now.” The man to the left of the big scary guy finally spoke up. Baekhyun deeply bowed before leaving their company, the big wooden double doors shutting behind him. This left Lay in the room with more strangers.

When he turned around he jumped to find that the blond was only a few feet in front of him.

“Sorry!” His laugh was so childish and his grin was so bright. It was such a contrast to everyone at the table. “I’m Tao!” He was quick to introduce himself, which relaxed Lay some. But, he was frozen in space and time at the moment, so he did not respond. Tao didn’t seem to mind, though. The young, albeit tall, man wrapped his arms around Lay in an embrace.  
“ _Oh._ ” Lay was surprised by the friendliness of this Tao. But, he was polite and hugged back. Perhaps Tao would let him know what the hell is going on.

“ _OH!_ ”

Lay yelped when two hands gave his hindquarters a firm squeeze. Another childish laugh came from Tao as he removed his hands from Lay’s rear and put them in his green bomber jacket’s pockets. Lay was wide eyed and flushed as he stared at Tao’s face, which was elated. Tao winked with his grin still on his face before he quickly walked back to his seat next to Big Scary.

Everyone was silent and watching Lay as Tao’s footsteps echoed in the open room. Lay swallowed the embarrassment away as he tried to think of what to say or do. 

“Uhhh.. What is-”

Big Scary in the center of the table raised a single finger and Lay immediately shut up. The man to the far right of the table smirked at this.

When Tao sat down next to Big Scary he leaned in and whispered to him, but Big Scary never took his eyes off of Lay. Tao seemed to pass something to Big Scary under the table, but he could not see what it was. Finally, those intimidating eyes looked down to whatever he was holding in his lap. Tao went to sit up straight once again, but he was still turned completely in his chair to face Big Scary, his grin still on his face. 

“Zhang Yixing-”  
“Lay. I go by-”

The finger was held up once again and so Lay shut his mouth once again. So, Big Scary continued to speak. Each word unnerved him further. 

“Twenty five years old. Five ten. Male. Brown eyes.” 

He even went on to recite Lay’s address. Lay was pale and felt faint by the time the man stopped and looked back up at him, still as serious as the grave.

“How.. How do you know..?” 

Lay was clearly horrified by what transpired, but Tao was giggling again. How? How was he giggling _right now???_

With a cold smirk, Big Scary slammed a worn leather wallet on the table in front of him and then soon following was an ID card, presumably his own. Lay’s jaw dropped for the third time today. His hands went to his back pockets, which made Tao burst into laughter. Did he really manage to snatch his wallet when he grabbed his booty?? 

Lay’s eyes focused back on the table to try and search for answers. Tao was hysterical, his honestly adorable laugh echoed in the room. The man to the right of Tao was trying to hide a smile by looking down. Big Scary wore a smirk on his face, but still looked big and scary. And the man to the left still looked serious, but he seemed to be growing annoyed. 

“I think it’s time to make proper introductions.” The man to the left spoke up once again, his soft voice was calming compared to Big Scary’s rough and low tone. “My name is Suho. This is my-..” He introduced himself, gaining a nod from Lay. But, he paused as he gestured over to Big Scary. “ _Our_ boss, Kris. You’ve already had the pleasure of meeting Tao,” at the mention of his name Tao finally stopped his giggling to give Lay a wave. “And finally, this is Xiumin.” The man on the furthest right finally looked up and gave Lay a curt nod. Kris, during all of this, never moved.

“Do you know why you are here, Lay?” At this Lay furiously shook his head. “We need your help with something..” Suho continued, but this made Lay’s forehead wrinkle.

“I just got out of the hospital, I’m in debt and I don’t have a job. I don’t think I am in the position to help anyone.” 

This drew a modest chuckle from the man known as Xiumin. “Oh, we assure you. You can definitely help us. If you do so, we will help you out with your problems.” When the man smiled he looked impossibly young. But, suddenly his eyes darkened and his expression took on something that was a mixture between seductive and demanding. It made Lay swallow, _hard_. “So.. What do you say? Scratch our back and we scratch yours, hmm?” The man practically was purring his words and Lay couldn’t form a proper sentence.

“That June night, the night of your accident. What happened?” Kris spoke up, silencing everyone around him with his deep voice. He didn't even have to speak all that loud for everyone to shut up and listen. 

“I-.. I don’t remember.” Lay spoke only loud enough that they could hear him.

“You don’t remember?”  
“No sir.”

Kris’s eyes narrowed. He looked like he might stand up and step over the table to approach Lay. Lay held his hands together in front of him to keep them from shaking too much. 

“I pray you are not lying to us, boy.. Trust me when I say that there are consequences for crossing us.”  
“I swear it!” Lay blurted out, terrified of the man and what he may do to him.  
“Really? Is that-”  
“Enough.”

Suho’s calm voice spoke up, surprising everyone, especially Kris who did not look happy about it. “I’ve already told you what the doctors have said. If he says he cannot remember, odds are he’s telling the truth. Let the boy be.”

Kris opened his mouth to likely scold Suho, but Lay was quick to beat him in terms of speaking.

“All I remember is a sudden bright light!” Lay chimed in to save Suho from getting in trouble by Big Scar-.. Kris.. On his behalf. “That and a ringing in my ears. Next thing I know I’m waking up in the hospital with doctors telling me I was hit by a car. I swear to you that’s all I remember! I’m sorry I can’t be of more help.” 

Kris’s sharp gaze turned back to Lay. Everyone was silent once again. Tao was no longer smiling and he even looked intimidating now that he was so serious. Xiumin’s sharp eyes were still dark, but he was back to his original serious expression. Yet.. A very brief smile graced Suho’s features. If Lay would’ve blinked he would’ve missed it. But, he glanced to Suho to see if he did the right thing, so he caught the fleeting smile. 

“Well.. I cannot just let him leave. I want the information that’s hiding in his brain. But, I also do not allow freeloaders to live in this home. So-”

“ _What?!_ No! I can’t-!”

“You _will not_ interrupt me anymore!” Kris’s voice suddenly boomed within the room and he let the silence linger so his echo could be heard perfectly. This caused Lay to flinch and look at the ground. So, he didn't see Suho and Xiumin also flinch. “If you enjoy having a life you best do as you are told, _boy_. We _will_ find use for you here _until_ you remember what you saw. Ironically enough, everything you see and hear here you may as well forget. Because if you tell a _soul_ anything about this place or us your life will be forfeit.” Kris’s voice returned to his normal volume, but there was a definite edge to it. 

“Have I made myself clear?”  
“Yes-.. Yes sir.”  
“Good. Suho. I want you to get this boy out of my sight. Take him to one of the spare rooms and make sure he understands the exact situation he found himself in.”  
“Of course, sir.”

With that, Suho stood up, grabbed Lay’s wallet and ID, and walked over to Lay with purpose and a deathly serious expression on his face. He grabbed Lay by the arm, much like a parent would a child, and led him out. The doors were opened for them and immediately shut once they were outside of them. 

Neither of them exchanged a word the entire time he was led through the confusing mansion. 

Lay felt like he was in a daze as Suho opened a door and dragged him inside a room. The bedroom was probably bigger than his living room in his apartment. A large desk was on the left side of the room and full bookshelves. On the right side of the bedroom was the bed, a massive dresser, and two doors to what Lay assumed to be a closet and a private bathroom. Now, the bed itself was a king sized bed. Lay never even sat on a king sized bed before. He wanted to marvel at the room. But, considering the situation he was finding himself in it was difficult to do. So, when Suho finally let go of his arm Lay walked over to the bed to take a seat on it, fingers running over the silken duvet. 

“Take my advice, Lay. When Kris tells you to do something. You do it.” Suho finally broke the silence with a softer expression as he looked down at Lay. Lay looked up at him finally and narrowed his eyes for a moment. 

“Why?”  
“Because he's not a good person. None of us are.”  
“What is that even supposed to mean? And you seem good. You stuck your neck out for me earlier.”

Suho let out a little chuckle and shook his head while he looked down for the moment. Lay was so naive. He was truly a sheep among wolves. 

“We’re part of the mafia, Lay. Or well, we are the head of it here.” Suho was blunt with his words, despite how soft they sounded. This left Lay slack jawed as he stared up at Suho in disbelief. “Kris is our boss, sure. But, more dramatic names would be the Don or even Godfather.” Suho shrugged in amusement. “I'm his advisor, so to speak, while Xiumin is his second in command.” 

Lay was shaking his head, not believing a word of this. But, then he looked up when he realized Suho was forgetting someone who was at the table. “What about Tao?”

“What of him?”  
“What is he to Kris? A third in command?”

Suho let out a hearty laugh at Lay’s guess. But, Lay didn't understand what was so funny about it. He was sitting closer to Kris than Xiumin was… Maybe he was a co-leader of sorts? 

“Tao isn't even officially part of the family. We consider him as if he was. But he's what's called an associate, he works with us and for us. But, he isn't part of us.”  
“Then why was he at the table? And next to Kris?”

Suho let out a soft breath as he crossed his arms across his chest. “It's… Complicated. Tao doesn't typically sit at the table with us. But he was allowed to since not everyone was there. Xiumin was kind and allowed him to have his seat next to Kris.”  
“But, why??”  
“Because he's useful. I'm sure you noticed his sticky fingers.” 

Lay frowned at this.

“Oh! Speaking of.” Suho reached into his suit pocket to grab the wallet and ID. He opened up the wallet to place the ID back inside of it, finding there to only be a single bill inside and two cards. What did Lay say earlier about being in debt? Was that true? Either way, he passed the wallet off to Lay who politely nodded to Suho in thanks. “You may want to check how much money is in there and how many cards you have left. Just in case Tao got greedy.” 

Lay did as he was instructed. “It's all here.” It was Suho’s turn to frown. He figured Lay wasn't lying about being in debt. He'd have to have a word with Luhan and Kyungsoo about that later. 

“I'll advise you to not tell anyone where you're at. Nor would I risk trying to call 911. If you're lucky you may get a cop that's young and still believes in honor. But, odds are you're going to get someone who is in Kris’s pocket showing up to tell him about the phone call you made.”  
“Wow.” 

Lay was burying his face in his hands like he did in the car ride over. “Can I even use my phone?”  
“Sure. We aren't savages. Just be mindful of what you say.”

“Can I leave to go places?” Lay asked, having that coffee date on his mind.  
“Not without one of us and permission.”  
“Are you serious? What about all my stuff at my apartment???”  
“I'll send someone to collect everything tonight.” 

Lay loudly groaned as he removed his hands from his face and finally took off his backpack and sat it next to him, digging into it to grab his keys. He tossed the keys over to Suho with no warning, but the man still gracefully caught them out of the air. “It's the brown key..” Lay muttered in defeat. But, he was hopeful that he'd wake up to find it was all a bad dream. 

“Thank you. It would be best if you ate supper in your bedroom tonight.”  
“This is _my_ bedroom now?”  
“It is. But, we all have a meeting this evening. Afterwords I'll send someone to go retrieve most of your belongings. I-” 

Suho stopped what he was saying and Lay was unsure as to why until he reached into his suit’s inner pocket and pulled out a cell phone. Suho looked at the screen and frowned. 

_Chanyeol:_  
_The new boy has Kris all riled up. He wants us to start pushing further into others’ territory, starting a turf war._

Suho locked the phone, but continued to hold onto it, and went to readdress Lay. “There will be someone standing outside your door at all times, making sure you don't try and run off without permission. I'm sure you understand.”  
“Yeah, yeah, I under-”

Suho’s phone vibrated audibly this time. 

_Kyungsoo:_  
_You have to talk to Kris. Chanyeol just spoke to me. Do you have any idea how expensive a turf war can actually be? We can afford it, sure. But, I would not suggest it. Especially when he's blinded by revenge._

Suho frowned once again, but quickly retook a composed expression. “I'm glad you understand, Lay. It'll make it much easier for you to adapt to the world you've stepped into.” 

Suho’s phone vibrated. _Again._

_Kris:_  
_We need to talk. Now._

Suho bit onto the inside of his lower lip and took the time to actually reply to this one. 

_Suho:_  
_Give me twenty minutes._  
_Kris:_  
_You have 15_

With a sigh Suho pocketed his phone to find Lay staring at him. 

“You're a busy man.”  
“Well, that's what happens when you take care of everyone.”  
“I thought you were just an advisor.”  
“I guess I'm an impromptu parent as well.”

The two actually shared a small laugh, as awkward as it was. But, eventually Suho was extending his hand out to Lay. “Hand me your phone.” Lay surprised Suho and did as he asked, reaching into his backpack and then handing his phone over to Suho. Suho unlocked it and proceeded to put his number in Lay’s phone before handing it back over.

“Now then, if you ever need anything give me a text or call.” Suho stated and Lay nodded. Suho then started for the door, pausing to turn to Lay one last time when he opened it. “Oh, and Lay?”

“Hm?”  
“Do remember you are surrounded by dangerous people.”  
“You don't seem dangerous.”  
“And that's where you're wrong.”

Lay shook his head, not believing Suho even if there was an extremely serious expression on his face. “You've been good to me so far. I don't see how you can be dangerous.”

Suho tilted his head back some, making his Adam’s Apple far more prominent and his lips twitched into a smirk. It made Lay start to swallow again. 

“I'd do anything to keep my family safe, Lay.” 

The statement sent a chill down Lay’s spine, or maybe it was the low and quiet tone Suho used. He wasn't sure, but he found himself believing Suho. 

“Have a good evening, Lay.”  
“Y-You too.” 

\---------

Hours passed before anything more eventful than supper occurred for Lay, and supper was a big event for him. It was by far the fanciest meal he’s ever ate in his life, even if he ate it on the desk in the room. They even gave him a glass of wine! Lay thought it was gross, to be honest. But, it probably was the most expensive wine he’s ever drank! So, he at least willed himself to finish a glass of it. He wanted to appreciate the hospitality while he could. Or maybe he was trying to focus on the better aspects of whatever the hell his life was now.

He was on the bed, laid back and dozing off when a firm knock woke him back up. “Hmm? Yeah! Come in!” Lay called out, assuming it was Suho. He was rubbing his tired eyes in an attempt to wake up when he heard a loud voice and a lot more footsteps than he expected. 

“Remember what I said! Be easy! You do not want to drop those boxes!” 

Lay couldn’t see the owner of the voice. But, people were flooding into the room, putting boxes down in the floor and then promptly leaving. “What on Earth..?” He muttered, blinking at the sight in front of him. 

After all the boxes were sat down and the last person left Lay finally saw the owner of the loud voice, who was now yelling a thanks before he stepped inside “Lay’s room” and shut the door. Lay was surprised because he was the most normal looking person he’s seen here. He wore a red hoodie and a black hat backwards for crying out loud! Most everyone else he’s seen wore suits. Well, Kris was wearing a leather jacket, but he still looked like a thug. Tao.. Tao wasn’t wearing leather or a suit, but he still was so well put together it was obvious he had an expensive lifestyle.

“Ah… What is this?”  
“This is all your stuff!” The young man gestured to all of the boxes, proudly. Lay, once again, found his jaw dropping.  
“All of it?”  
“Yeah.. I saw the eviction notices.. So I figured it was safest to pack up everything. Well, I mean.. Stuff like food or drinks I didn’t bother, but everything-”

Lay scrambled off of the bed and found himself hugging the stranger so tightly and suddenly that it caused the breath to leave the man’s lungs and made him stop speaking. “Thank you..” Lay breathed as he continued to hug the slightly shorter man, who didn’t really know what to do. Lay thought he wouldn’t be able to go home to get all of his stuff. He assumed the landlord would auction it all off. Well, anything that was at least a little bit valuable, which wasn’t much.

“Um. Yeah! It’s no problem. Really.” The man awkwardly patted Lay’s back and Lay took the cue to let go and take several steps back and turn his attention to the boxes. He was going to have a lot to unpack.

“I’m Jongdae, by the way!” He finally introduced himself with the warmest smile Lay has seen this evening.  
“Lay.”  
“It’s nice to meet you.” 

Jongdae stuffed his hands in the front pocket of his hoodie as the two stood there a little awkwardly. But, Lay was quick to speak up again. “I’m sorry. But, are you.. You know? _One of them?_ ”

This caused Jongdae to cock his head to the side. “One of them?” He repeated, unsure of the question.  
“Kris’s.. Uh. Family.”  
“ _OHHHHHHhhhhhhh!_ ” Jongdae’s eyes brightened as he finally understood what Lay was asking. “Yes! Although, I don’t really take many orders from Kris himself. I’m.. Ah, a lot lower than him on the totem pole I guess you could say. I mostly deal with Xiumin! Sometimes I do work for Luhan, Chanyeol and Suho though!” 

Lay was trying to follow Jongdae as he explained himself. He didn’t really understand much of anything here. But, he was already growing to like Jongdae. He seemed so _normal_. It was strange, really. “But, you just look too.. _Everyday_. I guess.” Immediately Jongdae filled the room with infectious laughter. The sound of it made Lay smile so large that his dimple was prominent like it was earlier in the day.

“Good! I work a lot on the streets. I aim to look everyday. Approachable and ignorable. Although.. I’d like to think I’m not so ignorable.” Jongdae raised his eyebrows for half a second at his last sentence, causing Lay to let out a nervous laugh and turn his attention back to the boxes. He started to open one up when Jongdae began to speak again. “Oh! There should be more than enough hangers for your clothes in the closet and there’s the dresser there too!” He informed Lay as he went to open the closet door. 

Lay really wished his jaw would stop dropping. It was going to get sore at this rate. 

He opened the bathroom door earlier and it dropped then, considering the bathroom looked more like a spa. But, the closet was a large walk in closet! He’s never even seen one of those in person! “Wow.. I hope that I’ll never remember so maybe I could stay here forever..” He didn’t realize he vocalized his thoughts so Jongdae could hear him. That was until Jongdae snorted.

“Careful. Kris isn’t a patient man. But, if you’re useful..” Jongdae shrugged before he grinned and let out a little laugh again, which caused Lay to smile once more. “Ya! How do you think that Tao sticks around!?” His voice raised much higher than was necessary, which apparently seemed to be a habit of his. 

“What do you mean?” Lay asked, earning a short, high pitched, giggle from Jongdae.  
“Really? Well, to be fair he brings in money. He is a damn fine thief and pickpocket. He shares a lot of his ‘finds’ with us for a cut. So, he is free to stay here as much as he wants. But…” Jongdae dragged out his “but” causing Lay’s eyebrow to raise.  
“But?”  
Another giggle came from Jongdae. “Have you heard him laugh?”  
“What?”  
“Have you heard Tao laugh yet?”

Lay looked lost but he slowly nodded. “Yeah.. I’ve heard him laugh a lot today.” He muttered, remembering how much he managed to make to Tao laugh earlier.  
“Isn’t it just the cutest thing?”  
“Huh?” Lay tilted his head to the side and Jongdae grinned once again.  
“His laugh! It’s really cute. It’s infectious and it makes me smile.”

Lay did not understand how this was supposed to explain Tao’s usefulness to Kris and it must’ve showed because Jongdae’s expression fell along with his shoulders. “ _Really..?_ ” Jongdae groaned before he recomposed himself. But, his expression took a dark turn that reminded Lay of what Suho told him earlier. 

_Do remember you are surrounded by dangerous people._

“Look. I didn’t say this to you. Okay?” Jongdae pointed his index finger in Lay’s face causing him to pull his head back some. “I will literally end you if you say _anything_ about this.” Lay found himself furiously nodding and Jongdae returned to the normal human being he always appeared to be. Especially when that bright smile reappeared. “Good!” He cheered as he clapped his hands together for a moment.

“Now..” Jongdae’s voice got uncharacteristically quiet, it even made Lay lean in closer to hear him properly, “I’m sure you’ve noticed.. Kris isn’t the ‘funnest’ person.. But, I’m _certain_ that he even loves Tao’s laugh. You know.. I’ve seen him even-”

Jongdae’s phone began to ring and he just about jumped out of his own skin. His hands covered his mouth and his eyes widened as he looked at Lay with sheer horror.

Did Kris _actually_ hear what he just said?? Lay’s eyes widened in turn as he threatened to shake in his shoes. Jongdae removed his hands from his mouth and held a finger over his lips to make sure Lay knew to stay silent. Then he pulled the phone from his pocket to answer it, not looking at who it was. 

“Hello?”  
“Jongdae.” With as quiet as the two were, Lay could hear the smooth voice on the other end of the phone. He could recognize the voice on the line, but he wasn’t quite able to place it just yet. Luckily enough Jongdae seemed to relax.  
“ _Oh, thank God_. It's just you!”  
“What do you mean it's _just you?!_ ” The voice took on an edge and raised in certain offense, but Jongdae didn't seem alarmed by it, “Nevermind. Where are you?”  
“I just finished bringing Lay his belongings like Suho wanted!”  
“Do you have anymore work?”  
“No. Not for anyone else.”  
“Come see me in my office then.”  
“Sure thing, Xiumin. I’ll head your way after saying bye to Lay!”

The phone call ended and Jongdae grinned at Lay. “Duty calls?” Lay asked, finding himself a little disappointed that Jongdae was leaving. He could see himself becoming friends with him. But, Jongdae didn’t answer him. The young man only walked backwards to the door with a catlike smile on his lips, giving Lay a wink on his way. Once he grabbed the doorknob he finally spoke up before leaving Lay’s company.

“No rest for the wicked.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lay is a smol bean that must be protected at all costs. 
> 
> And introductory chapter is introductory.


	2. Assessments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _… Then my body hardens_   
>  _If not now_   
>  _I can’t ever escape from you_   
>  _I try running away_   
>  _With all my strength_   
>  _But I can’t, what I do..._

A little over an hour after lunch Lay got a knock on his door. “Come on in!” He called out knowing if he didn't answer they'd walk in anyways. Well, unless he locked it. But, he didn't figure that'd bode well for him. Doors could be broken down, after all. Either way, he didn't look up from the box he was currently working on unpacking. Right now he was focused purely on clothing, then he'd go from there. It was nice to have his own clothes here at least. He still knew how to get comfort from the small things. 

Lay heard the door open and the hardwood groan under feet. So he rubbed his forehead with one of his sleeves on his gray and salmon long sleeved shirt before he turned to look up at the figure. He was still crouched on the ground so that made Suho all the more intimidating in this moment, despite the smile on his face. It also felt strange that he was wearing another nice suit and Lay was in casual clothing. 

“Good afternoon, Lay.”  
“Afternoon, Suho.” Lay groaned as he stood back up, probably sounding older than he should. When he stood a couple inches taller than Suho he found he wasn't _as_ intimidating anymore. Although, he still knew better. “Ah.. Can I help you..?” He prompted since Suho’s attention seemed to fall onto the boxes. 

“Yes. We decided that today will be the day we see if you're particularly useful or not.” Suho spoke as if it were nothing, which unnerved Lay even more. What happened if he wasn't useful? He didn't really want to know. 

“Okay then..” Lay started as he awkwardly looked around.  
“If you're ready then- Oh. Here's your keys back. Jongdae brought them by last night.” He fished the keys out of his pocket and tossed them over to Lay, who caught them only to drop them in the currently open box.  
“Thanks. But, yeah I suppose I'm ready.” Lay shrugged. He didn't know what to expect. Suho nodded and led him out of the room. 

“You'll be meeting three of the higher ups. The ones that typically assign jobs I suppose you could say.” Suho explained, but Lay still didn't really understand anything of what was going on. He stopped trying to completely understand it all and accept what Suho said at face value. 

Suho noticed the silence from Lay and gave him a sidelong look before he spoke up again. “Was Jongdae rude to you last night?”  
“No!” Lay suddenly piped up and shook his head. “He was really nice, actually. He was like a normal human being. Ah, no offense.” Suho let out a soft chuckle when Lay said “no offense.”  
“None taken. Did you sleep well then?”  
“I mean.. Yeah. It was probably the most comfortable bed I've ever slept on.” Lay didn't understand the line of questioning Suho was throwing at him. Suho seemed pleased with his answers, but then his expression would harden again. Maybe that's just how he was. 

The rest of the walk through the mansion was mostly silence. Thankfully enough, it was a comfortable silence. Lay figured Suho was mostly a listener with anyone except Kris anyways. 

After a while the pair entered a large hallway and Suho stopped them at a door. He gestured to it, indicating for Lay to step inside. “This is your first stop today.” That was all he said and Lay nervously stepped forward to open the door. 

The moment he stepped a foot in the door someone was already invading his space. He looked up to find dark eyes and a cold scowl greeting him. “So.. You're the little lamb Suho’s been telling us all about.” The man spoke and Lay found himself frozen in place. The man in front of him felt like he was more of a predator than a man. “Let me give you a word of warning..” his voice dropped down to a whisper as he leaned in. Lay focused on his bronze complexion to try and focus on something besides his intense glare, but a shudder went down his spine when he felt hot breath on his cheek after the man leaned in closer. “If you dare to try anything.. I will gut you like a lamb sent to slaughter.” 

A finger dug into Lay’s rib cage, as if to make a point. It caused Lay to yelp and quickly try and get away from the man, even if this led to him moving out of the room. The man found some of the bruising left on his ribs from his accident. Lay jumped the moment a hand grasped his shoulder to steady him, but he relaxed when he turned to find that Suho was still there. But Suho was staring directly ahead of him at the man in the doorway with a cruel smirk on his face. 

“Jongin. _Enough._ ” A voice from inside the room spoke up. This caused the man to bristle before stepping back inside the room, looking more like a scolded dog now. 

“If Kai gives you anymore trouble.. Don't be afraid to call me.” Suho whispered in Lay’s ear before he let go of Lay’s shoulder. Lay did not realize he was leaning into Suho’s touch until his hand was removed and Lay found himself falling back into his shoulder a little before he could properly stand on his own again. 

Lay turned to apologize to Suho, but the man was still staring down Kai. He must've felt the weight of Lay’s gaze because he gave him a soft smile before he turned to leave. Lay stood in the hallway for a moment, wishing Suho would stay with him and not leave him to whomever else was in this room. 

Hesitantly, Lay willed himself to step back in the room, the weight of Kai’s stare was crippling. But, Lay forced himself to continue inside. Thankfully enough, Kai settled himself in the corner of the room, standing there proudly with his hands held in front of him. Kai’s eyes were trained on Lay, when Lay met his gaze Kai gave him a smirk that was equal parts charming and terrifying as he adjusted his black coat. 

“You’ll have to forgive him. He’s rather protective.”

Lay’s wide eyes suddenly left Kai to find a man of a much smaller frame sitting at a desk that one would expect a CEO to have. The suit he wore fit him rather snugly, so it hinted at a muscular body hiding underneath. He was writing in what appeared to be a ledger before he promptly shut it and looked up at Lay. “Please, have a seat.” He gestured to one of the two empty seats in front of the desk. 

Lay nodded and did as the redhead asked. As he took his seat Kai shut the door to the office before standing in front of it like a bouncer. This made Lay’s heart rate spike and he wrung his hands together in his lap.

“Now, Lay, is it?”  
“Yes, sir.”  
“My name is Kyungsoo.”

Kyungsoo’s voice was surprisingly calming. It was softer than others’ he met here, yet it still had firmness to it and it was deeper than he would’ve expected. It was similar to how a parent would likely sound. It helped to ease Lay’s nerves. “It’s a pleasure.” Lay’s voice was a bit more sure of itself. This led to a hint of a smile gracing Kyungsoo’s lips. 

“Today you'll be meeting all of the capos. There are three of us. I am one of them. The other two are Luhan and Chanyeol. And-”  
“I'm sorry.. But, what is a capo?” 

Kyungsoo smiled once again as Lay held up his hand to stop him from continuing. He seemed to be a polar opposite from Kris. 

“Well, Kris is the Don, so to speak. Xiumin is the underboss. And we capos are underneath Xiumin. Each of us have our speciality. The goal today is to try and find someone you can work for and help out.” 

Kyungsoo leaned back in his chair for a moment as he observed Lay, tapping his pen on the desk. “To be honest I doubt you'll be working with Chanyeol at all. Considering how Kai affected you.” At this Lay heard a snort behind him, but he didn't dare look back at the heavy presence behind him. 

“I have a feeling you and I will be working a lot together. And maybe you and Luhan will work together some. There's the potential there..” Kyungsoo seemed to get lost in his own thoughts as his eyes took a moment to take in Lay’s entire appearance. 

“What is it that you do?” Lay asked, not knowing if he really wanted to know. Kyungsoo ran a hand through his perfectly styled hair in thought for a moment. 

“I work in logistics and numbers. Every good business needs a good bookkeeper. That's what I do. I keep track of all the money that comes in and out. I also keep track of our men. If Chanyeol needs to make a show of force, I run the numbers. I will project odds of success and variables that he can work with.” 

Lay wore a blank expression on his face as he tried to take all of this in. Kyungsoo took his time to adjust a cufflink on his suit so he could let Lay soak it in. 

“I'm very good at what I do, Lay.”

Lay let out a long breath as he idly nodded to let Kyungsoo know he heard him at least. “I don’t-..” He stopped when he remembered Jongdae suggested he should make himself useful if he wanted to stay. Lay didn’t know if Kris was one to simply let him walk away from all of this. He realized he never finished his sentence and refocused his gaze back on Kyungsoo, who raised an eyebrow. 

“Ah, sorry. I-.. I just don’t know how I could be of use to you.”  
“A new set of eyes are always useful, Lay.” Kyungsoo replied with a gracious smile on his face.  
“If you insist.”

It was then that Kyungsoo’s eyes went to the figure standing behind Lay at the door for a moment before they returned to Lay. “Unfortunately, I can’t keep you all to myself, Lay. You have other people to meet today and I don’t want to keep them waiting. Everyone is _very_ excited to meet you.”

Lay’s eyes widened a touch, he was comfortable in Kyungsoo’s presence. Okay, well, maybe he wasn’t so comfortable with Kai behind him. But, still. He hoped every meeting would go this well, even if they are all as brief. 

“Kai, would you mind showing him to Luhan’s.. ‘Office’?” 

Lay turned to find Kai nodding to Kyungsoo.

“Thank you. Now, Lay, if you wouldn’t mind I still have work to finish. Don’t worry about Kai, by the way. He won’t bite.”

Lay nervously looked back at Kyungsoo, unsure if he believed him or not.

“Isn’t that right, Kai?”  
“I’m not into little lambs. So, I have no intention of biting him.”  
“ _Kai…_ ”  
“He’s safe with me.” Kai still wore a devilish smirk on his face, but Lay saw there was no getting out of leaving here with Kai. He desperately needed to learn his way around the mansion so he wouldn’t need an escort. But, he hesitantly stood up and walked over to the door.

Kai stood there studying Lay, as if he was weighing him up, but then he finally opened the door and stepped outside. Lay followed after him, but avoided his gaze and focused on what was in front of him the entire time. He was definitely intimidated by the man. 

He was far too thankful when Kai didn’t try and make conversation with him. But, the silence between them was so heavy. Luckily, enough the walk was not that long, as it was just down the hallway. 

Kai rapped on the door and eventually a voice told him to enter. Instead of doing so, he looked over at Lay. After a moment Lay finally understood that Kai wanted him to enter first, so he opened the door and stepped inside.

Much like the last time he entered a room he immediately was in front of a tall figure. He looked up at the blonde haired man with an apprehensive expression. “You were taking a while so I was going to get the door for you.” The man told him with an amused tone.

“Ah, sorry, Luhan.” Lay was making assumptions on who this was and immediately the man broke out into a grin. 

He looked over one of his broad shoulders, which Lay followed his gaze to another man he didn’t realize was in the room. “I like him. Can we keep him?” He asked with a bit of a laugh.  
“No, Sehun. He’s not someone to be owned.”

Lay could hear Kai chuckling to himself behind him as Sehun shrugged and moved out of Lay’s way, his leather jacket making quite the annoying noise as he moved. Lay stepped further into the room and a man his height stood from a reading chair as he rolled his white button up shirt sleeves up to his elbows. 

Lay understood why Kyungsoo was hesitant to call the place an office. It did not look like an office. Sure, there was a table with a lot of papers on them. But, there was a mini bar in the room! Compared to Kyungsoo’s professional work space this was far from an office.

“I’m sorry for the mistake.” Lay quickly apologized, but Luhan waved him off.  
“Well, I’m Luhan and this is Sehun. I’m the..” Luhan paused as he tried to explain his role within the group  
“Spymaster. He’s a spymaster.” Kai chimed in, causing everyone to turn to look at the man who was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed across his chest.

“Yes, well. That’s one way to put it. I work in information gathering, essentially. Which, does mean I am in charge of the spies we have.” Luhan took a moment to look over at Sehun for a moment, a blatantly fond expression on his face. “Sehun is actually one of the best little birds I have.” There seemed to be a look of pride on Sehun’s face as Luhan looked back at Lay. “He’s quite the good dancer. He can-”

“He’s a stripper.”

Everyone turned back towards Kai again who wore a smug expression. When Lay looked back at Sehun he was rolling his eyes and Luhan didn’t seem to be too bothered by it.

“Tactful, as per usual.” Luhan commented with a sigh.  
“When are you going to dance with me again, Kai? I make a killing whenever you join me.” A smirk was now playing on Sehun’s face and when Lay looked back at Kai his smug expression disappeared as he shrugged.

“Kai, I’m sure Kyungsoo probably needs your help with something.” Luhan said, clearly trying to get the other man out. Kai promptly nodded and left, shutting the door behind him. 

To say Lay felt awkward was an understatement.

“I’m sorry if you’re uncomfortable at all. Kai meant everything in good spirit. He and I go way back.” Sehun said with a rather sincere expression and Lay did feel better about things. If they were old friends then it did make sense. Some old friends lived to embarrass each other after all! So, Lay found himself shaking his head.

“No, I’m fine.”

“Well, Kai wasn’t wrong about Sehun though..” Luhan spoke and Lay internally cringed. It just felt so weird to be talking about being a stripper so nonchalantly. Then again, given he was surrounded by a mob maybe it wasn’t that weird for them. “I own a strip bar and it brings in a nice amount of money. But, it also is well full of information. People forget that strippers are people after all.”

Lay frowned as he looked over at Sehun, his heart going out to him in that moment. Sehun shrugged his shoulders as if to say he was used to it. Lay could only imagine what he tolerated whenever he worked. 

“I also employ a variety of ‘homeless’ people, along with many others that people tend to forget are human beings.” Luhan managed to romanticize the life of spies in a way that even made Lay think it was rather amazing. 

Luhan took a moment to look at Lay before a smirk appeared on his lips. “You’d make a good spy.”  
“I’m sorry?” Lay’s eyes went wide in surprise.  
“You’re rather good at listening and letting people talk. If you knew how to direct people to a subject, you’d be perfect for the job.”

Lay looked between Sehun and Luhan for a moment. The taller one leaned his head to the side with a bright smile on his face while the shorter one stood there with his hands in his dress pants’ pockets. Lay really wasn’t sure of what to say. “Uh… Thank you?” His thanks came out more of a question, causing Sehun to laugh. Even Luhan let out a small chuckle as he glanced down for a moment. 

“I want you to think on it, Lay. Yeah?”

Lay nodded in agreement.

“Sehun, would you mind passing him off to Chanyeol?”  
“Sure thing.”

Sehun began to walk to the door and Lay was rather quick to join him. Lay was pleased at how well this went over. He was hopeful that meeting Chanyeol would go over just as well. And once again, the door to Chanyeol’s office was thankfully in the same hallway.

But, Sehun still tried to make conversation.

“Do you dance?”  
“Huh?”  
“Do you dance?” Sehun repeated.

“Well, I mean..”  
“You do!!” Sehun sounded giddy, like a child, when Lay was unsure how to answer. “Listen, Lu and I would never make you do something you’re uncomfortable with. But, if you’d like to make a little extra money on the side sometime I can show you the ropes! I think you’d be real good at it.”

Lay’s cheeks ran hot at the very _idea_ of him being a stripper. 

Thankfully, that was about the time Sehun was knocking on Chanyeol’s door. A voice answered on the other side and Sehun opened the door for Lay and gestured for him to enter. “It was nice meeting you!” He whispered, but it was still perfectly audible to anyone in Chanyeol’s office.

Lay nodded in agreement before his eyes turned on the office in front of him. He was surprised to only find one person in this room since the others seemed to have pairs. A man who was sitting in a desk chair stood up, only for Lay to realize how tall he was. The black turtleneck sweater he wore clung to his figure. He looked a little out of it, even if his gaze was focused on Lay. It was as if his mind was elsewhere. 

“So, you’re the new one?”  
“Ah, I guess so.”

He got a small chuckle out of the man as he heard the door shut behind him. 

“I’m Chanyeol. No offense.. But I’m not going to keep you long. I honestly doubt I’ll have you do work for me.”

Lay shook his head, “None taken.” He didn’t understand why it’d be offensive thought. “What do you do?” He found himself asking and Chanyeol raised an eyebrow for a moment.

“I work with the muscle of our organization. If a show of force is needed, I’m your guy.”  
“Show of force..?”  
Chanyeol chuckled and shook his head for a moment. “Violence. That’s what I’m good at.”  
“ _Oh._ ” Lay immediately felt intimidated by the man in front of him. So, his gaze turned to the office around him. When he looked towards the other end of the office he finally spotted the rifles that were mounted on the wall. It was that moment that Lay realized that he was actually in the presence of a killer. The violence he spoke of was lethal. 

“Have you ever even held a real gun before?”

Lay’s attention snapped back to Chanyeol who was leaning back against his desk, looking at him rather expectantly.

“No sir.” 

At this Chanyeol sighed, almost looking disappointed. 

“I figured as much. I need people who either know how to use a gun or who have no problem swinging a baseball bat at someone’s skull as if they were in the major leagues.”

Lay’s face paled. 

“Look, kid. I’m busy making plans for tomorrow. You’re not cut out for _this_ kind of work. So, you’re free to leave to your room.”

Lay was quick to slip out of the room when he was given permission to leave. He did not even want to know what kind plans Chanyeol was making. 

\------

Lay found himself lost in the maze of the mansion. He did not have a clue on how to get back to his bedroom to continue and unpack. He has been wandering around for twenty minutes now with no hope in sight.

He heard voices down another hallway, so he was apprehensive to go down said hallway. So, he was carrying on a way he’s already been down. But, that was when he heard is name by a familiar voice.

“Lay!!” 

Lay turned around to find Jongdae jogging up the hallway to meet Lay, giving him a brief wave. Lay smiled, so very grateful it was just Jongdae. But, the anxious feeling came back when he looked over Jongdae’s shoulder to find Xiumin slowly walking after him. 

“What are you doing over here?” Jongdae asked, stealing Lay’s attention off of Xiumin.  
“Oh, ah. I’m.. Hopelessly lost.”

Jongdae let out a rather loud laugh at this. “Xiumin and I can show you back to your room!” He declared as Xiumin finally stood next to him. 

Xiumin pulled the gray suit vest he was wearing down to adjust it. He was such a stark contrast to Jongdae who was wearing that black hat backwards again, and a long sleeved black shirt that had sleeves too long for him, so they ended up hiding his thumbs if he held his arms down. “Lay, I actually haven't got to.. Speak with you much, but Jongdae has told me about you.” Xiumin’s voice was so smooth and was at a moderate volume. It was hard to believe he'd ever get a word in around Jongdae with as loud as he is. “All good things, I assure you.” He added when he found Lay to be rather speechless. 

Lay’s eyes went to Jongdae who was beaming at him. “Ah. I'm sure you've been busy. So, it's fine that we haven't spoke much.” Lay felt awkward as he tried to speak to Xiumin. Xiumin’s eyes never looked away from Lay’s, but Lay was having difficulty maintaining eye contact with him. 

Xiumin nodded as he looked over at Lay, “You'd be correct. But, I suppose we can have a moment to speak as we lead you back to your quarters.” Xiumin extended his arm towards the hallway the pair just came down. Lay gave Xiumin a slight bow, namely out of respect, before he started down the hallway. Xiumin was walking next to him and Jongdae shadowed behind them. It was strange to hear him be quiet. But, Lay supposed he even knew when to be respectful. 

“So, Lay. Might I ask you a question that may be difficult?”  
“Um.. Sure.”  
“You said you remembered a bang. Yes? Did it come before or after the impact of the car?”

Lay finally met Xiumin’s eyes with pursed lips. That wasn’t a hard question to answer, but he didn’t like to think about it, even if he didn’t remember much.

“I don’t remember the impact. So, I guess it was before.” He was thankful he didn’t remember the impact. If he still had lingering pain from bruised ribs he could only imagine how it must’ve felt at that time. 

“Your ears were ringing, correct? So I assume you were really close to the ‘bang’. If it wasn’t the collision from the car, then would it be safe to assume it was a gun. Am I right?”  
“Ah.. I guess so?”  
“Then you were very close to the gun in question. Ah, if only there were more details..”  
“I’m sorry..” Lay’s voice suddenly grew quiet and he looked back ahead of him. He was afraid of Xiumin and what he may do if he grew impatient like Kris did.

“It’s out of your control.” Xiumin responded plainly before he glanced back at Jongdae behind them. Lay didn’t follow his gaze, he only looked ahead of them as they walked through the mansion.

“How’s everything here? I hope the food is adequate.”  
“Oh! Yeah! It’s great.” Lay was quick to respond to Xiumin, not wanting to seem impolite. But, the food was actually fantastic, to be fair.  
“Good. I hope that-...” 

The muffled sound of raised voices made Xiumin trail off as the three slowed to a stop. Lay looked back at Jongdae, who narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips. Lay decided that he wouldn’t get used to seeing him this unnerving. Xiumin, meanwhile, was walking towards a door that the voices were coming from behind, Jongdae quickly moving next to him. Lay found himself hovering behind them, curious more than anything. 

When Xiumin opened the door Lay sharply inhaled. 

Kai was holding Suho by his suit jacket, pulled in only a few inches from his face. Both were wearing scowls and looked probably too close to killing each other. 

“ _What do you know?!_ ” Kai barked as Suho’s hands calmly went to grip Kai’s wrist to try and pull his hands off of his suit.

All Xiumin had to do was clear his throat for Kai to immediately let go of Suho and take a few steps back from him. Suho dusted off his suit as if dirt got all over it while Kai’s attention was completely on Xiumin.

“Does anyone want to let me know what’s going on?” Xiumin demanded of the two without raising his voice.  
“Suho was helping me with my ‘bad cop’ routine.” Kai did not miss a beat in answering Xiumin as he held his hands together behind his back while he proudly stood like he did in Kyungsoo’s office earlier. 

Finally, Suho’s gaze went towards the three standing in the doorway. He frowned for a brief moment when he met Lay’s worried gaze. 

“Suho.”  
“He’s right. He still has a lot of work to go. He can be hot tempered. It’d make people shut down rather than giving information. He needs to learn patience.” Suho’s voice was a pitch lower as he slowly glanced over at Kai to give him a sidelong look, but his expression was composed, if not a little irritated.

“Take Lay to his room, Suho. Kai. You stay here while I have a little chat with you.” Xiumin was quick to give out orders as he stepped into the room, Jongdae tailing him inside. Suho deeply dipped his head and then made his way to the door. But, Xiumin spoke up again before Suho could pass him. “This evening I am going to have a talk with you as well.” 

The men stopped moving, but never looked at each other. Suho did not respond, his eyes only bore into Lay’s. 

“ _Am I understood?_ ”  
“Yes sir.”  
“Thank you.” 

Suho continued on out the door with his upper lip curled some in anger. By the time he was out the door it vanished. 

Lay was silent for most of the time as he followed behind Suho. But, he could only take the silence for so long.

“Are you okay, Suho?” Lay asked as he slowly stepped up to walk next to him.  
“I’m fine. He wouldn’t hurt me, anyways.” Suho was quick to respond and Lay wasn’t going to press it any further.

Eventually, the pair arrived at Lay’s room and Suho seemed to have cooled off from whatever happened. Lay could still tell he was irritated, but he felt more comfortable around him at least.

Suho opened the door for Lay and Lay stepped into his bedroom, immediately walking to an open box to continue unpacking. But, after he crouched down he looked back to the door, feeling Suho’s eyes on him.

“Can I ask you something?”

Suho stepped into the bedroom completely and shut the door, nodding his head. 

“So, Kai.. That’s his name?”  
“Yes.”  
“Then why did Kyungsoo call him Jongin earlier?”

Suho sighed and Lay suddenly felt like he asked a stupid question.

“Because that’s his real name.”  
“Then… Why Kai?”

Suho walked over to the desk and pulled the chair out so he could sit down and be able to look at Lay properly. “Why Lay?’

Lay was taken aback for a moment as he looked back down into the contents of the box in front of him. “I have my reasons.”

“Exactly.” At this Lay looked back up at Suho. “We all have our reasons. Some us have pasts we don’t want to be connected to.” Lay understood Suho’s explanation, but he found it strange. What could be in their past that they don’t want to be connected to when they’re openly connected to the mob?

“So.. Why did Kyungsoo call Kai Jongin?”

Suho let out a little chuckle at this. “Because, he’s close enough to him to be able to.” Lay figured he could understand that. But, didn’t Sehun call him Kai? 

“Didn’t Sehun grow up with Kai?” Lay asked as he decided to merely sit on the floor instead of crouching.  
“Oh, you met Sehun as well? Yeah, you’re right though.” Suho looked surprised, but shrugged it off.  
“He called him Kai.”

Suho actually smiled as he looked down at Lay. “Sehun isn’t as close to him as Kyungsoo is.”  
“I thought they were tight?”  
“They are, Lay.”  
“What..?”

Suho gave Lay a minute to process the information since he didn’t seem to get it just yet.

“ _Ohhhhhh…_ ”  
“There’s a smart boy.” Lay couldn’t help but to blush at Suho’s words.  
“Is that even allowed? I mean.. Doesn’t Kai work for him?”  
“ _Oh, Lay.._ ” Suho looked down at Lay as if he were a child and Lay felt the blush spreading to his ears. “There’s no rules on who we sleep with. As long as both parties are consenting..” Suho shrugged softly as his gaze fell back on Lay, which Lay couldn’t help but to feel flustered by his gaze, even if he wore a neutral expression.  
“Wait. I meant relationships.”  
“I still answered your question, didn’t I?”  
“I guess so?”

\----------

To Lay’s surprise, Suho stuck around for quite the while. The two even had their suppers together in Lay’s room. They didn’t talk about much in particular. Mostly Suho actually helped Lay unpack, so they even shared quite a bit of silence.

Lay found himself growing comfortable in Suho’s presence. 

Suho was back to sitting in the chair, enjoying a glass of wine as Lay laughed at some stupid joke he made, even if Suho didn’t find it funny, as he worked on the last box of items. He didn’t see the soft smile on Suho’s face due to this.

Suddenly the door to his room opened. 

“Hey, Lay! Do you-”

The familiar loud voice was heard as someone barged into the room. Lay jumped at the suddenness of it as he looked up to find Jongdae frozen at the door. His eyes were fixed on Suho, but Lay didn’t turn to look back at Suho. 

“Oh. Um. I can come back later if I’m-.. Ah..” Jongdae pointed over his shoulder at the door, and Lay didn’t understand why he was so flustered.  
“It’s no need. I should probably go see Xiumin before he calls me.” Suho said as he stood up and slowly strolled out to the door carrying his wine with him. 

“Thanks for helping me unpack!” Lay called out, but only received a wave from Suho in response.

Jongdae was still frozen in place long after Suho left.

“ _That was the weirdest shit I’ve ever seen in my life.._ ” Jongdae whispered before he blinked and looked over at Lay.  
“How was that weird?”  
“Suho is all business. He never has time to sit around and do nothing. Yet, here he was enjoying a glass of wine and _smiling_ in your company. What the-” Jongdae seemed to zone out again for a moment in thought. “ _Wait a second!_ ” He yelled suddenly, causing Lay to jump. Suddenly he was holding onto Lay’s shoulders with a deathly serious expression. 

“ _Did you two..?_ Wait. More importantly, did you give him permission first?”  
“What? No!” Lay once again found himself blushing. “He seriously just helped me unpack and then we sat around and talked.”  
“You talked?”  
“Yes.”  
“About..?”  
“Random stuff really.”  
“He didn’t make any moves or make you feel uncomfortable?”  
“No?”

Jongdae finally let go of Lay when he seemed to be satisfied with his answer. “Okay. Good. I mean, unless you wanted him to make a move. Which, then that sucks and I’m sorry. But, hey he’s gonna be a tough-”  
“Jongdae.”  
“Huh?”  
“Why did you come by in the first place?”  
“OH! I was going to ask if you wanted to join me and a few others for some drinks! We don’t get to do it often since it means we all are free. But, yeah! You should really get out of this room some!”

Lay rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He wondered who the few others were. Oh, Lord. What if one was Kris? But, Jongdae was right, he needed out of this room. Plus he didn’t want to miss out on the chance for a friendship with Jongdae! And maybe he could make some more friends by doing so! 

That’d be nice.

“Sure.”  
“Okay, let’s go!”  
“Right now?”  
“Yes!” 

\-------

Lay was practically dragged through the mansion by Jongdae. He realized he was being dragged back to the offices and he was anxious about the crowd they’d be meeting up with again.

Jongdae promptly opened up the door to Luhan’s office and immediately two people began to cheer, which Jongdae immediately joined them.

“Lay! You came!” 

When Lay’s eyes finally found Sehun sitting on the floor in a half circle with others in front of the mini bar he couldn’t help but to smile, glad that someone was happy to see him. He noted that Tao was the other one that was cheering. Kai was sitting in between Sehun and Tao and even he wore a disarming smile on his face and he held his glass up to Lay as if he were toasting him. 

Jongdae prompted Lay to sit down, so he took a seat on the floor next to Sehun. “I see Kai has already started. But, I’ll get our drinks!” Jongdae announced before going around the bar.

“Where’s Luhan?” Lay asked Sehun.  
“Oh, he’s at the strip bar. So, he’s working tonight. I have the night off.” Lay nodded at Sehun’s explanation. 

“Sorry about grabbing your butt yesterday.” Tao suddenly chimed in, leaving Lay slack jawed as he looked over at him. “But, you were wearing tight pants and unfortunately skinny jeans are the bane of a pickpocket’s existence. You were going to feel me take your wallet, so I had to create some kind of distraction in that area.” Tao explained himself, probably too much. 

“Ah, it’s okay.” Lay nervously waved him off, more eager to get off of the topic. Luckily, Jongdae was bringing drinks around.

He handed one to Tao and then one to Lay. Which, Lay offered the glass to Sehun, but he held his hand up. “Oh, no thanks I don’t publically drink. I tend to start taking my clothes off.” Lay was surprised by Sehun’s honesty and it must’ve shown in his wide eyes. “If I’m not getting paid for it, what’s the point?” He laughed, trying to get Lay to laugh it off with him. 

It was at this point that Jongdae rejoined them, sitting between Lay and Tao, completing the little circle. 

“Does Luhan have to pay then?” Kai asked which caused Tao to burst out into laughter. Jongdae began to laugh as well, but he was looking at Tao, making it was clear that he was only laughing because of Tao’s laugh. Or, well, mostly.

Lay was quickly taking a sip of his drink as he looked at Kai who was grinning as he looked at Sehun.

“Only if I’m working.” Sehun responded with quite the smirk on his face, clearly not offended by Kai’s question. This caused even Kai to start laughing and it was really rather handsome. It almost made Lay forget about his threat and the way he was caught with Suho. It was like the man was a completely different person right now. Maybe Xiumin really got through to him earlier.

Lay didn’t realize he had been staring at Kai and that the laughter died down. It was only when Kai met Lay’s eyes and he quickly raised his eyebrows for half a moment that Lay blinked and looked away. 

“So you and Luhan are..?” Lay found himself asking Sehun as he looked over at the man.  
“Yep.” Sehun responded simply with an amused tone.  
“ _Oh._ ”  
“Are you okay with that?” Sehun asked with a grin.  
“Oh, yeah! I don’t have a problem with it. Just curious.”  
“Okay, good. I’m pretty certain Lu will have some work for you tomorrow.”  
“He will?”  
“I’m pretty sure.”

“That’ll make Kris shut up about you, hopefully.” Lay looked over when Tao spoke up and he found Tao looking directly at him. Kris spoke about him a lot? Lay did not imagine it being anything good.

“Is that jealousy I hear, Tao?” Jongdae asked with his catlike grin on his face and Tao looked over at Jongdae with a smile slowly appearing on his face.  
“Hell yeah it is! You know how frustrating it is to have to tell him to shut up about some other guy when I’m trying to have a moment with him?”  
“Whoa!” Jongdae laughed as he held his hands up in surrender, even if Tao was grinning at him.  
“I still can’t believe you can tell him to shut up and get away with it.” Kai shook his head as he spoke and Lay found himself nodding since he couldn’t believe that. Well, and that Tao was apparently in a relationship with him.

Tao still was grinning as he brought his cup up to his lips. “He’s whipped.. And he knows it too.” He quietly said with a serious expression before he took a drink.  
“Oh, _shit!_ ” Jongdae exclaimed before he let out a loud laugh, which Kai and Sehun joined him in. Even Lay found himself laughing. Maybe it was because everyone had such infectious laughter. Or maybe the thought of Kris being “whipped” by anyone was ludacris.

“I feel like he’s going to come in here and kill me for laughing.” Jongdae said after a few moments of laughter. Lay felt the same way as the laughter died down.

“So..” Lay was quiet when he started, but he immediately became the focus of everyone’s attention. “Uh.. Can I ask a rude question?”  
“We live for rude questions.” Sehun quickly responded, prompting him to continue.  
“Um. Is everyone.. Together?”

This caused another uproar of laughter from the group and Lay’s face began to turn red again. Apparently yesterday was the day his jaw would be dropping and today was the day for him to blush. He didn’t know which one was more embarrassing.

“We aren’t all in one big relationship if that’s what you’re asking.” Kai smoothly responded, which made Lay shake his head.  
“No! No, no, no. I just meant.. Like if you’re all in relationships.”  
“More or less.” Kai replied with a shrug, causing Lay to take another drink. Wasn’t that weird? Surely it was. Then again.. Lay had to admit that it made sense for attractive people to get together. 

“Are you not into men?” Sehun asked Lay with his head tilted to the side and Lay knew the blush spread even onto his neck at this point. So, he quickly took another drink to buy him time to answer, which this made Tao start giggling.  
“No-.. I mean.. Ahm..”  
“So you are into men?”  
“I like girls too.”  
“That’s fine, man. Whatever makes you happy.” Jongdae was quick to jump in, also saving Lay from any more questions into his sexuality. 

“Where’s Baekhyun?” Tao asked, also helping them onto another conversation.  
“He’s with Chanyeol.” Kai answered.  
“Ah, come on.. He’s missing out on _our_ night!” Sehun groaned.  
“Hey, you know how Chanyeol gets the night before a big push.” Kai’s expression sombered some.  
“ _Oh._ That’s happening tomorrow? I thought Suho talked Kris into pushing it back.” Tao also seemed to grow a bit more serious.  
“Unfortunately, no.” Jongdae quietly responded. 

Lay found himself a little lost. But, considering what Chanyeol told him about his job in specific, he imagined people were going to get hurt. So, he didn’t ask any questions and focused on his drink.

\--------------------

Hours passed. Lay had been led back to his room and was quick to fall asleep, happy with the evening since he thought he made friends with Tao and Sehun, and maybe even Kai.

But, even this early in the morning, someone was still awake. 

Long legs stepped out onto the balcony as a large hand held onto a chair to drag out onto the balcony. Chanyeol sat down in the chair, enjoying the cool air on his bare chest. Sweat collected on his brow, so the cool air was welcomed against his hot skin. His eyes looked up at the bright moon in the dark sky. He silently sat there for a few minutes. But, eventually arms were wrapping around his chest and lips pressed against the crook of his neck. 

“Why can’t you sleep like a normal human being?” The feeling of lips brushing on his neck caused Chanyeol to grab onto one of the other man’s wrists.  
“You know I can’t sleep before a fight, Baekhyun.” At this response Baekhyun’s free hand trailed over one of the many scars on Chanyeol’s toned chest.  
“You know you don’t have to actually go fight since you’re a capo?”

Chanyeol didn’t respond. He just pulled Baekhyun’s arm up to his mouth and bit into his skin. Baekhyun hissed as his face pushed into the crook of Chanyeol’s neck even further. The fact that Baekhyun was also shirtless made it clear that this was a habit of Chanyeol’s, but all the other bite marks seemed to be on his torso. He was careful not to break skin since he bit into his arm, it wouldn't be as easy to cover up as it would be on his torso.

Chanyeol pulled his mouth away from Baekhyun, letting his wrist go. Instead, he took to interlocking his fingers with Baekhyun’s. 

“You know, most people leave hickeys.”  
“Do you want me to stop then?”  
“No. That’s not what I said.” 

The two shared a small laugh. 

After it died down there was a long, but comfortable, silence between the two. Then Chanyeol began to feel lips press against his neck, causing him to lean his head to the side, giving Baekhyun more access to his neck. 

“Do we want to go back to bed? Or are you done for tonight..?” Baekhyun’s breath was so soft against his neck. It managed to give Chanyeol chills.

“Yeah, give me a minute..” Chanyeol said as he gave Baekhyun’s hand a squeeze before he let go of it.  
“Don’t take too long.” Baekhyun turned Chanyeol’s face to the side and pressed a quick kiss on his lips before he went back into the bedroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thankfully I had a lot of time to write this weekend! If only more weekends could be like that.


	3. Flirtations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _You’re beautiful, so I’m scared._   
>  _It’s a deep trap, you looking at me._   
>  _I’m already going back to you with my two legs tied._

Jongdae spent most of the day trying to help Lay memorize the mansion, although it was a very slow process. Luckily enough, Jongdae was patient with Lay. So, by the time supper rolled around Lay felt a whole lot more confident in his abilities to navigate the mansion. The two decided to eat supper together and Lay found it so nice to be able to say he’s enjoyed the entire day. Not to mention he’s definitely found a friend in Jongdae. 

In the middle of supper Lay actually received a call from Luhan, asking him to come see him in his office. Lay asked if he could finish his meal first and was thankful that he was permitted to. Seems like Luhan wasn’t as strict as what some of the others probably were. So, after the pair finished eating Jongdae went with Lay to Luhan’s office and was very proud when he managed to get there without help.

After knocking Lay was permitted to enter and he said a quick goodbye and thanks to Jongdae.

“I have a job for you, Lay.” Luhan was quick to speak up the moment Lay’s eyes fixed on him. He was standing next to the table holding what appeared to be a few documents. Sehun was in the room as well, but he was standing behind the mini bar, seemingly cleaning it. 

“Umm.. Okay.” Lay spoke up as his eyes returned to Luhan, who was setting down the documents on the table.  
“It’s actually less of a job and more of a trial run. I want to test my theory about you, see if you can make a good spy.” Luhan explained, but Lay’s expression immediately fell at the very thought of it. He couldn’t do that. He couldn’t get sent somewhere dangerous and act like nothing's wrong. He just couldn’t-

“Don’t worry. It’ll be in a safe, controlled, environment.”

_What?_

“How? Ah, if you don’t mind me asking.”  
“Easy. You’ll be at the bar.” Luhan said with a smirk.

 _Wait. The_ bar? The one that Sehun strips at?

“I don’t know..”  
“You won’t be stripping if that’s what you’re worried about. Well, unless you want to.” Luhan shrugged with his smirk still planted right on his mouth.  
Lay couldn’t help but to scratch the back of his head in thought. “What will I be doing then?”  
“Go, have a good time, enjoy yourself. But, I want you to talk to people there. I want you to be able to tell me all about someone at least by the end of the night. What they do, their relationship status, if they have family, what kind of car they drive, their prefered drink, hell, even if they’re a dog or a cat person.”

Lay was left wide eyed, unsure that he could reasonably do all of that. But, Luhan continued. “You’ll be safe, Lay. I’ll be there, Sehun will be there. I know you’re tight with Jongdae so if you want him to be there I could see if I could steal him for the night to have him there.” Luhan was trying to reassure him, but Lay was still very much unsure of himself in this moment. “I wouldn’t bother if I wasn’t positive you could do this, Lay.” 

He met Luhan’s eyes after staring at the ground in thought for a few moments. He didn’t think he’s seen him _this_ serious before. Considering he did have to find something he was good at to appease Kris, he found himself giving Luhan a curt nod. A smile appeared on the other man’s face as he looked over to Sehun. 

“But, only if Jongdae can be there.. So, if anything goes wrong.” Lay found himself putting his foot down.  
“I’ll give Xiumin a call to see if I can borrow him tonight. In the meantime, Sehun, why don’t you help Lay go get ready?” Luhan pulled out his phone as he looked over to Sehun, who wore a bright smile on his face.  
“Can do!” Sehun was already crossing the room to grab Lay by his wrist to walk him to his room, or more so drag him there. But Lay looked at Sehun in shock as he started getting dragged out of the office.  
“Wait. I don’t need help getting ready.”  
“Sure you don’t.”

Sometime after the pair arrived at Lay’s room Sehun was making Lay go through his closet to pull out outfits as he sat on Lay’s bed. “Do you have any button ups?” He randomly called out to Lay who peeked his head out of the closet door.  
“Button ups?”  
“Shirts with buttons.”  
“Yeah. I mean, I have one.” Lay said before disappearing to bring out the light blue button up shirt he wore when he got discharged from the hospital. Sehun looked it over for a moment before letting out a sigh.  
“It’d be cute. But, cute isn’t exactly what we’re going for here.. I’m going to have to take you clothes shopping sometime.” Sehun basically groaned as he stood up to walk over to Lay’s closet.  
“What’s the big deal about button ups?”  
“Trust me, they may be a pain in the ass to put on and take off. But, they’re fun to work with.” Sehun answered as he began to go through the shirts that Lay owned, but Lay didn’t really understand his answer.  
After a few moments Sehun suddenly pulled out a completely black top that had a large collar on it and he held it up to Lay for a moment. “Okay, put this on with some dark pants. We’ll go from there.” Sehun instructed him before stepping out of the closet and back into the bedroom to give Lay some privacy, but the boy still adorably shut the closet door. But, Sehun didn’t know that was mostly to hide the fresh, pink, scars on his right side. He was lucky the scars weren’t large, the doctors did a good job. But, they would still be there for a long while before they faded.

Eventually, Lay came out of the closet and looked at Sehun, raising his arms a little to ask if he looked acceptable. The shirt was more or less ordinary and plain, as it loosely rested on his lean figure.. But, that large collar is what Sehun was banking on. The collar managed to expose the top of his chest and his collar bones. It left even Sehun wanting to see more. 

That’s exactly what he was going for.

“Yes! Perfect!” Sehun cheered as he got off the bed. Lay still looked cute, but the exposed skin definitely added the “edge” Sehun wanted him to have. 

After they styled Lay’s hair so his bangs didn’t sit on his forehead Sehun was surprised to find a little piercing hole on Lay’s left ear. “Your ear is pierced??” Sehun asked as he looked back at Lay’s face.  
“Yes?”  
“Where's your earrings?”

Once Lay brought the tiny little box of earrings to Sehun he decided on having him wear a black stud earring. Then, he took a few steps back to look at him. Lay looked more like his age now, more like an attractive man than a cute boy. It was almost startling to know the young man could go from cute to pretty sexy with a few minor changes in his appearance. 

“You're going to get a lot of numbers tonight. I know it.” Sehun sounded so sure, it caused blush to start creeping back up. The blush grew fiercer the moment Lay realized Sehun’s eyes dipped back down to his collarbones.

“So.. Do we go now, or..?” Lay asked, trying to get Sehun’s eyes off of his body. It seemed to work since Sehun met his gaze once again.  
“Yeah! Let’s go back to Luhan and see if he’s ready.”

When the pair returned to Luhan’s office there was a whistle when Lay walked into the room. Lay found it was Jongdae that whistled. “You clean up nice!” He complimented his appearance with a bright smile, which made Lay smile in turn.  
“Thank you~” He said softly, which made Jongdae giggle some more.  
“That was so cute.”  
“Wow, Lay. You’re going to do great tonight.” Luhan spoke up, reassuring Lay some as nerves began to settle in his stomach.

\--------

The group of young men arrived at the strip bar and Lay was starting to get the jitters. He never had gone to a place like this before. But, at least they could go through the back door so Lay still felt like he could get some time to try and relax. Although, he fought to keep his focus on Luhan as he led him through the back of the building, as there were dancers preparing for their work. Which, the dancers were both men and women, which did surprise Lay a little. It was then that Sehun leaned into Luhan, telling him that he was going to prepare as well, and he split off from the group.

Once they got to the door that would lead them to the main floor Lay tapped on Luhan’s shoulder. “Um.. This is a bar right? Can I get a drink first..?” Lay felt embarrassed to asked and he was so thankful that Luhan didn’t laugh.  
“Sure, thing. Jongdae can have a seat with you at the bar and you can have drinks on the house. Just don’t have so much that you can’t focus on why you’re here.” Luhan nodded before opening the door for the two that were trailing him.

The music already made it hard to hear Luhan, especially coupled with the amount of people in the building, but it wasn’t deafening at least. The main area was quite a bit darker than the back area was. “I’ll be in the right corner of the building, Lay. It’s cut off from everyone else, but you’ll be able to get to me if you need me. Jongdae will take you over to the bar.” Luhan told Lay before leaving their company. Lay watched him as he walked closer to the wall, only to walk up a few steps that were guarded by two large security guards, and take a seat on a very comfortable looking couch. Even from here Lay could see the way Luhan watched the room like a hawk, he could see everything from that spot after all. It made him feel a whole lot better about the situation he found himself in.

Jongdae led him to the bar where the drinks on the shelves were all resting under neon purple lights. Once the two sat down they ordered their drinks and Jongdae turned in his seat so he could look at all the sights behind them. Lay didn’t turn in his seat. He focused on the wall of alcohol as he quickly finished off his first drink before ordering another. Jongdae finally looked at Lay when he heard him order another.

“Whoa. Hey. This is your last one. Okay?”  
“Sorry.”  
“It’s alright, man. I know you’re nervous. Trust me, I understand how terrifying your first job can be. But you’re completely safe.”  
“Thanks..” 

Lay’s hands were trembling as he took down his second drink, eager for the liquid courage to kick in. About that time the music in the bar promptly changed and Jongdae looked back to one of the stages. “Huh, sounds like Sehun is about to go on stage. He was always so good at this.” Jongdae spoke and Lay found himself nervous to even see Sehun on stage. So, he found some kind of courage as he stood up from his seat.  
“I’m going to try and get to it. Find a.. What was it? A mark?” Lay said with a brief smile on his face.  
“Oh, okay! Yeah, it’s a mark. And hey, I’ll be lurking on the floor. So, if things go wrong, start looking for me. I’ll likely see you panic and swoop in. Okay?” Jongdae made sure that Lay understood he would truly be okay. Lay gave him a nod and said his thanks before he slipped into the crowd.

A few times Lay actually was approached by a few dancers that were working the floor, he always grew real flustered and would turn them away. Lay found that a nod towards Luhan managed to get the more persistent ones to immediately leave him alone. 

He didn’t realize eyes were on him most of the time.

Finally, his eyes went up to the stage after a particularly rowdy set of cheers from both men and women around it. Sehun was working his magic already. He unbuttoned a single button on his white shirt and that excited the crowd. But, then he returned to his graceful dancing. He’d occasionally throw flirty winks and smirks around, but that was it. Then eventually he undid another button. 

_He’s teasing the crowd._ That’s why he said buttons were fun. Lay was properly mesmerized by him, so much so he did not notice that his hips were starting to move to the music that was playing. 

So much so that he did not realize a man came up to stand next to him.

A minute passed before Lay became aware of his presence. 

“Is he the only one in this building you want?” The man asked, earning a startled look from Lay. This caused the attractive man to let out a short lived laugh. “I’m sorry. It’s just.. Well, it’s going to sound strange. But, I couldn’t help but to notice you turned away every other dancer.”  
“Oh. You caught that?”  
“Sure did.”  
“ _Oh_ , well, I’m not really interested in the dancers to be honest.”  
“Oh? Are you a dancer then?”  
“No. I’m just friends with the owner here.” Lay found that the bit of liquid courage must have really helped, considering words were flowing out of him rather easily. 

“Really? Do you work with him?”  
“No. I’m in between jobs actually.”  
“Oh, that’s a shame.”  
“What do you do?” Lay rather boldly asked, turning to completely face the man now that he remembered his assignment for the night. _He could do this._

“Ah, it’s not so exciting I’m afraid. I work in business. It’s the same story you’d hear anywhere else.. The industry is cutthroat competitive and my boss is always on my ass.” The man shrugged with another laugh.  
“I definitely understand that.” Lay muttered, relating it to the mafia he was currently living with.  
“I’m sorry, where are my manners? I’m Dean.” The man introduced himself to Lay and extended his hand.  
“Lay, it’s a pleasure.” Lay responded as he took the man’s hand for a handshake.  
“No, the pleasure is truly all mine.”

Lay smiled as he looked away for a moment. 

“Say, has anyone told you that the dimple of yours is really cute?”  
Lay laughed openly at this, causing Dean to give him a rather handsome smile. “Yes, you wouldn’t be the first. But.. I’ll still gladly take the compliment.” Lay said as his eyes slowly dragged back over to Dean’s. Lay saw him wet his lips with his tongue as his eyes quickly stole a glance at Lay’s collarbones. 

Maybe he was better at this than he first thought he’d be.

“Are you single, Dean?” Knowing that the man was attracted to him, at least in this moment, gave Lay a powerful rush. He was growing brave.  
Dean grinned at the bold question, but he nodded anyways. “Yeah.. I actually just got out of one of those ‘it’s complicated’ relationships.”  
“You’re looking for a rebound, then?” Lay bit on his lower lip immediately after saying those words, realizing he was getting _too_ brave. But, he did not realize that he only made Dean weak in the knees.  
“Would that make me a bad person?” Dean tried to shrug it off with a low chuckle.  
“No, it’d make you human.” Lay spoke earnestly and it seemed to show since Dean’s eyes widened a little bit and his expression grew serious for a moment as he nodded. 

“Lay, can I be bold with you?”  
“I think that’s only fair, considering.” Lay and Dean both chuckled at his response.  
“You said you’re not a dancer, but do you dance? I saw.. Uhm. I saw the way you were moving to the music earlier.”  
“Ah.. You caught me.” Lay let out a soft laugh as a slight blush threatened his composure.  
“And you’re friends with the owner?”  
“Yes..?”  
“Do you think he’d mind if we borrowed one of the private dance rooms? If you’d be comfortable with that, I mean.”

Suddenly Lay realized just how in over his head he was. It felt like a literal wave of realization washed over him.

“Just for a dance?”  
“Yes. I don’t plan on getting kicked out for breaking the rules. Luhan runs a tight ship.” Dean nervously chuckled as he scratched the back of his head. Lay, meanwhile glanced over to Luhan as he pursed his lips together in thought. Luhan was so focused on Sehun right now. But, with the way Sehun moved, it made sense. 

Lay deeply inhaled. A dance couldn’t hurt, right? Maybe he’d be able to use this man to finish his “mission”! Lay just had to remember that he was in power here. There was no reason to be afraid. If anything went a little bit off all he needed to do was call Jongdae or call out for security. He’d be _fine_.

Finally, Lay’s eyes returned to Dean, who looked hopeful. But, the way Lay caught him swallow made Lay get chills. “Um, I think it’ll be fine. But, the no touching rule applies to me once we get into that room.”  
“Once we get into the room?”  
“Yeah. Otherwise no deal.” Lay was quick to put his foot down for himself, which made him proud of himself.

Dean chuckled and nodded. “Alright, Lay. Let’s go then.” Then the two walked towards a hallway, which Lay was thankful Dean seemed to know where he was going. 

Lay jumped when Dean’s arm snaked around his hip, pulling him against him. Lay looked at Dean, who was only slightly shorter than himself, with lightly furrowed brows. “You said once we get into the room. But, if you’re not comfortable..” Dean defended his action and Lay slowly exhaled.  
“It’s fine. It was just sudden.” Lay could feel his body actually start to heat up from the stranger’s touch. This was such a rush. Even if he did not necessarily want this stranger to touch him, he realized how much he was enjoying it. The way Dean’s strong hand started to grip onto his waist was making him dizzy. Was it that long since he’s experienced a simple touch? Well, yeah. It was. Lay worked nonstop for about two, maybe three, years now. There never was time for relationships or even “fun”.

Briefly, Lay glanced over his shoulder and he immediately found Jongdae slowly moving through the crowd towards him. When the two made eye contact Jongdae didn’t seem as serious as he did a moment ago. _Are you okay?_ He mouthed, clearly concerned for his friend. Lay nodded his head and that was when a smile appeared on Jongdae’s lips. He held out two thumbs to Lay and winked at him, as if telling him to have fun.

They got to the private rooms and Dean suddenly stopped them at one where the curtain was open. “So, can I ask something else that’s strange..?”  
“Sure?”  
“I know you said no touching once we get into the room. But, ah.. Would you be comfortable if I did touch you right now?”  
“It depends on what you mean.”  
“It won’t be sexual.”  
“Okay then..?”

\---------

Jongdae was relieved that Lay seemed to confirm that whatever he was getting himself into was consensual and he turned back around to look towards Luhan. He made his way through the crowd to reach the steps up to Luhan’s private little area. Security did not try and stop him. He went and stood next to where Luhan was sitting.

“You’d be proud of Lay. If he plays his cards right he could have the current man he roped in singing.” Jongdae crossed his arms across his chest and spoke with a grin, very happy and proud of Lay.  
“Is that right?”  
“He’s heading to a private room with him now.”  
“Really?” Luhan finally took his attention off of Sehun and looked at Jongdae with raised brows. “Wow.. The little lamb learns quick.” Luhan muttered when Jongdae nodded and then turned his attention back to the man on stage. 

Jongdae’s attention went to the floor. His eyes went through the people at the bar. But, his eyes narrowed when he saw someone making a beeline through the crowd, towards the private rooms actually. Soon Jongdae could see his side profile and his face went pale. 

Immediately, he turned to Luhan. “Suho is here.”  
“ _What?_ Why?”  
“I don’t know. But, by the look on his face he is daddying up. I gotta go make sure he doesn’t kill someone!” Jongdae said before running out of Luhan’s company and tried to make his way to Suho as quickly as possible.

\-------

Lay found himself pressed against the wall with a hand on his waist and fingers running along one of his collarbones. Dean wasn’t forcing him against the wall, no, he was leaning against it to steady himself since his heart was beginning to race. Who knew such a small touch could stir him up so much? _Focus._ Lay’s half lidded eyes blinked a few times until he could focus on Dean’s face, who wore a kind smile. “I’m sorry. I honestly couldn’t help myself. You’re a very attractive man. Thank you for letting me.” Dean said in a rather charming voice.

“No, no. It’s, ah.. Really nice if I’m being honest.” Lay admitted with a shy smile as the fingers ran along his collarbone once more, causing him to shudder, before Dean withdrew his hand and actually started to pull his hand off of Lay’s waist.

But, suddenly his hand was getting ripped off of him.

All the blood drained from Lay’s face when he saw Suho pulling Dean off of him and slamming him against a wall, causing all the breath to vacate his lungs. The look on Suho’s face was one that made Lay want to shrink and hide away. He looked terrifying. He didn’t even give Kai this harsh of a look when they were caught in the room together.

“Oh..” Dean started to try and speak before he gasped for air a little. But, he didn’t try and pull Suho’s hands off of his shoulders. “I didn’t think I’d see you so soon again, Suho.” Dean spoke, eerily calm.

“If you touch him ever again, I promise you.. I will kill you. If you’re lucky. If you’re not so lucky I’ll skin you alive and let the pain kill you.” Suho’s voice was low and steady, never missing a beat. It did not quake with anger, like Lay would have expected. That made it all the more terrifying. This was a man used to giving threats, and likely making good on them.

Dean held his hands up in surrender while a soft smile was on his face, clearly unfazed by this. Lay, finally found the strength to stand on his own as he slowly walked over to the pair. “Suho.. He didn’t hurt me and he didn’t force me to do-”  
“ _Lay._ ” The way Suho said his name made lay shut up, but Suho did not actually try and talk to him. It made Lay feel as if he didn’t want to hear what he had to say.

“Hey! Suho!” Jongdae’s voice called out, not sounding exactly pleased. But, Suho ignored him as well.

“ _Do you understand me?_ ”  
“Yeah. Sure. I hear you loud and clear. Crystal clear.” Dean said, which Lay could see Suho’s hands tighten on his shoulders, as if he didn’t believe him.  
“Suho. _Let him go_.” Jongdae’s voice took on a lower tone of his own as he finally approached the three, but Suho once again ignored him.

After another minute Suho finally let go of Dean and he casually started to walk away, but he didn’t turn his back on Suho. When he got far enough away he did look over at Lay and give him a wink before turning around. Suho’s hands balled up into fists and Lay took note of this. But, he didn’t dare interact with him, now afraid of being on the receiving end of his wrath.

“What the hell was that?” Jongdae rather boldly asked of Suho, who only shot him a glare. But, Jongdae surprised Lay and did not flinch. “If you were worried about his safety, I was watching out for him! I made sure he consented to coming over here with the guy! So, what is your problem!?” Jongdae, as per usual, was quick to raise his voice. But, this time it was not excited and cheery. This time it was deep and loud. It was scary, if Lay was being honest. 

Lay felt like a coward to be standing a few feet away, silent as the grave, shaking as he looked at people he both considered his friends with fear in his eyes.

“Don’t you _dare_ start with me, Jongdae.” Suho practically growled his words. Then he seemed to remember that Lay was there and quickly snapped his gaze over to him. But, when Lay flinched Suho’s eyebrows furrowed, softening his rigid features for a moment, looking almost apologetic.

“Suho. Do you mind explaining _what the hell_ you’re doing?” Luhan’s stern voice stole everyone’s attention.

Suho’s expression immediately hardened as he looked over at Luhan, who was approaching them. “You two were going to let Lay get hurt. He’s not cut out for this work anyways.”  
“I don’t know, Suho, he was doing pretty damn good from what I saw. And he is technically under my roof, where I promise protection to everyone in this building. Where you just assaulted one of my customers.” Luhan’s hands were calmly in his pockets as he stood in front of Suho, as if he was not afraid of him. “So, I’m going to ask you kindly, only this once..”

“ _Get the hell out of my building._ ” 

“I don’t take orders from you.”  
“No you don’t, but I don’t think Kris would be too pleased about this little squabble.”

Suho actually scoffed as his lip curled up in anger. He looked to the side, his eyes settling on Lay. “Come on, Lay..” Suho said as he reached out for him. Jongdae immediately placed himself between the two, not caring if it made Suho mad. 

“ _Move._ ”  
“You’re not taking him.”

“It’s alright!” Lay finally spoke up, coming around from Jongdae. He knew this would get physical if he didn’t step in. “It’s okay. I’ll go.” He tried to assure Jongdae, looking at him almost pleadingly. Jongdae only looked at him with a frown.  
“Lay..” Luhan said, sounding all too disappointed.  
“It’s okay.” He told Luhan as he turned to face, but it sounded more like he was telling himself that. 

Suho began to walk past Luhan to exit, pausing to make sure Lay was in tow. But, the two wordlessly stepped out of the hallway and into the main area. Lay found that Sehun was now shirtless. His eyes caught the pair and he shot Lay a concerned look, but Lay waved him off and Sehun continued his dance.

Once they were outside Suho opened the passenger door of a Rolls Royce for Lay, and then shut it once he was inside before walking over to the driver’s seat. The entire drive Lay looked out the window. He was embarrassed more than anything. But, he also was finding a rare emotion in him. He was angry. He was angry that Suho acted like that. He was angry he didn’t know what set him off.

At one point Lay looked over to see Suho white knuckling the steering wheel. But, then his gaze immediately went back to the streetlights in the dark city.

No one said a word.

When they arrived at the mansion Lay was honestly irritated to find that Suho was following him to his bedroom.

The moment they entered his bedroom Lay moved a few feet in before he turned to so see Suho shutting and even locking the door. The look on his face told Lay he should be scared of him. But, he was still angry. He couldn’t be _as_ scared of Suho at this moment.

“Lay, you don’t understand what you’re playing with.”  
“I was doing good, Suho! I was proving myself to Luhan! I have to do something around here, or what do you think Kris is going to do to me?” Lay surprised himself when he snapped back. But, he just did not understand why Suho was acting the way he was.  
“You can work for Kyungsoo, not Luhan.” Suho’s voice was still so steady, despite the clear agitation in it.  
“I’m not good with numbers.”

“Well, I’m sure you can figure it out.” Suho said before turning on his heel and going for the doorknob. Lay was not one to like it when people left without resolving the issue at hand. So, he surprised himself once again, and even surprised Suho. 

Lay quickly crossed the room with long strides and before Suho could grab the doorknob Lay’s hand slammed into the wall so that his arm was in front of Suho’s chest, keeping him from moving any further. 

Suho stared dead ahead as his tongue rolled across the front of his teeth. “ _Move. Or I will move you._ ” His voice was shaking at this point, likely from his anger. But, Lay didn’t move.  
“No. Tell me what your issue is.”

Lay finished his sentence and Suho’s eyes slowly dragged over to Lay’s. Lay was certainly unnerved by the look on Suho’s face, but Suho was surprised to find Lay looked like a grown man now that he looked so serious. 

Suddenly, Lay found himself getting pressed against the wall, this time very much unwillingly. Strong hands were on his shoulders and forcing him into the wall. “You’re going to get hurt, Lay.” Suho practically spat, but Lay was unconvinced. 

“How? Last time I checked it wasn’t lethal to let someone touch you.”  
“It is if you give permission to the wrong person.”  
Lay’s eyes bore into Suho and it caused Suho to press Lay into to wall completely now as he took a half step forward, completely closing the distance between the two. There were a few inches between them, but they were sharing breath at this point. 

When Lay felt Suho’s breath his tongue instinctively wetted his lips. Lay watched Suho’s eyes drop down to his lips. His bottom lip was in between his teeth as he watched Lay’s tongue drag across his lips.

That’s when Lay got it.

“ _Suho..?_ ” Lay’s hardened expression vanished in record time and Suho’s eyes snapped back up to Lay’s, looking a little wider than they previously were. Suho’s facial features slowly softened as he leaned into Lay a little bit more, but no longer gripping onto him as tightly. 

Suho pursed his lips as his eyes looked down. Lay felt one of his hands come off of his shoulder. But, two of his fingers trailed the very collarbone that Dean touched earlier. Lay found his breath hitching in the back of his throat as his heart began to race faster than it ever has before.

“I don’t understand..” Suho muttered, but Lay found himself not really caring what he was saying. So long as he did not stop touching him. Lay was lucky, Suho’s fingers ran back up his collarbone as Suho’s eyes slowly went back up to Lay’s. Lay’s head was now leaning against the wall and shallow breaths were coming from his mouth. He dryly swallowed when Suho’s eyes met his own. 

There was a moment where Lay and Suho did not move, they only breathed. 

Lay found himself desperate for Suho’s touch, even if his fingers did not move from his bare skin. One of his hands reached up to grab Suho’s hand that was still pressed against his shoulder. Surprisingly Suho let him move it. So, without breaking eye contact Lay moved Suho’s hand down and pressed it against his waist, now Suho shadowed where Dean’s hands were at only about thirty minutes earlier. 

“ _Lay.._ ” Lay’s eyes struggled to focus on Suho’s eyes instead of the strong grip of Suho’s hand on his his waist. But, his blood and heart were both racing inside of him. 

“You were jealous..” Lay found himself breathing, more than speaking. But, he was finding it difficult to breathe properly. Suho’s fingers abandoned Lay’s collarbone, earning a deep exhale from Lay. But, his hands went to run along his jawline instead, causing Lay to tilt his head back and to the side as much as he reasonably could. 

Suho was watching Lay’s reaction to his every touch in awe. There was something about watching the boy unravel in his hands that must’ve mesmerized Suho. 

Lay’s breath was hitching every other moment as Suho started to lean in closer and his hand moved from his jawline to his shoulder. Lay shuddered when his hot breath was right against his neck. He was eager for more contact from Suho. But, that never came. Suho seemed to be frozen. 

Suho’s phone began to vibrate in his inner suit pocket, causing the pair to both jump. Suho swore under his breath as he removed his hand from Lay’s shoulder to reach inside his suit and silence the phone. But, he did not move otherwise. He was still _too_ close, but not close enough.

Finally, Suho leaned in that extra inch. But, it was not what Lay expected. Instead of lips connecting on his skin Suho leaned even further in and his forehead rested against Lay’s neck, which couldn’t have been too comfortable for him since he needed to bend his knees a little bit to do so. Lay felt his hot breath on his skin as Suho let out a deep breath, causing chills to coat his skin, and Suho completely leaned into Lay, having as much body contact with him as he could.

All too suddenly Suho was pulling away. Suho didn’t even look at Lay. He headed straight for the door. “Suho,” Lay’s voice ended up cracking, “Please don’t.” 

Suho kept walking. “ _I can’t do this.._ ” He muttered as he unlocked the door and promptly left. Leaving Lay leaned against the wall, staring at the door for a long moment. All that anger earlier was replaced with hurt. 

He felt rejected.

\-------

When Suho finally called Xiumin back he was told to go to his office, nothing else. Xiumin didn’t sound too happy. But, Suho felt like he was in a daze at this moment so it was hard to care or feel any anxiety for what was to come. 

When he got to Xiumin’s office he walked inside without knocking, only to be met by a furious looking Xiumin. Suho managed to shut the door, but as soon as he did Xiumin started in on him.

“So, Luhan gave me a call. He said you were acting pretty reckless at the bar. Do you want to explain that to me?” He asked as his eyes sharply focused on Suho. His voice was relatively calm, but it contained a blatantly obvious edge to it.

“I found out that Luhan had plans for Lay. So, I went to the bar. I found Lay alone and with an unknown male. I felt that Luhan and even Jongdae were being irresponsible with Lay’s welfare. Even if it is Luhan’s bar and a relatively safe place.. They were still doing a trial by fire. They should’ve had their eyes on him at all time.” Suho told Xiumin, but Xiumin was growing a scowl on his face the entire time he spoke. 

“Are you serious?” Xiumin asked, giving Suho another chance.  
“Yes. I am.”

Xiumin rolled his eyes before quickly focusing them back on Suho. “Listen, Suho. I don’t know what has gotten into you, but I’m growing very impatient with you. If it’s that boy, you need to learn how to be more objective. I don’t care how close you may or may not be to him. If Luhan gives him work, accept that he has business and _step aside._ That’s how things work around here. So, I’m going to tell you to cut your shit out, at this moment, or I will be going to Kris the next time.”

“Now, get out of my sight. Go to either your office or room and stay there for the night.” Xiumin said with disgust as he gestured to the door behind Suho. Suho could only nod before he stepped out of the room.

\--------

Only a minute after Suho left Jongdae came running in Xiumin’s office. The young man was sweating, it was clear he ran across the mansion just now. “Chanyeol’s back..” He panted and Xiumin nodded before stepping out of his office to walk with Jongdae to Chanyeol’s bedroom.

Once they stepped in Chanyeol’s bedroom they found Kai leaning against a wall with his arms crossed across his chest while Baekhyun was slowly trying to pull Chanyeol’s blood stained undershirt up and off of him. But, it was sticking to a wound on his side, so Chanyeol was hissing and swearing as Baekhyun tried to remove the fabric as gently as he could. 

“What happened?” Xiumin finally asked once the shirt was removed and Baekhyun began to clean it. Chanyeol looked like shit. There was the wound on his side, which Xiumin couldn’t see how bad it was due to all the blood. But, bruises covered his body and even his hands were bloodied and bruised, suggesting he used them to fight people off. There was also a small cut underneath his left eye on his cheek.  
“Well, we own a gambling ring now.” Chanyeol groaned through whatever pain he must’ve been feeling. “But.. Well, I forget I’m not untouchable anymore.”

“You were never untouchable. That’s me, idiot.” Kai’s voice finally spoke up as a smile grew on his face and Chanyeol let out a strained chuckle.  
“If I didn’t need stitches right now I might’ve hit you to prove a point.”

Well, it was nice his sense of humor was still intact apparently. 

“You got shot.” Jongdae pointed out, since apparently no one wanted to talk about the elephant in the room.  
“A flesh wound really.”

“Did they know you were coming?” Xiumin asked.  
“No, they didn’t. But they holed up immediately, drew out the fight for as long as they could. It didn’t go well for them either way.” 

“Did… Did someone bite you..?” Jongdae asked as his eyes narrowed to look at Chanyeol’s chest a bit closer.  
“I did.” Baekhyun piped up immediately, causing Jongdae to groan. But, Kai and Chanyeol got another small laugh out of it.

“He’s downplaying it. If I wasn’t there he’d be in a shallow ditch right now.” Kai finally spoke up after a long period of silence. This gained Xiumin’s attention. “He was about to get swarmed, but he was lucky I was watching his ass and managed to put the men down before they could pull the triggers on Chanyeol.” 

Xiumin sighed and nodded at this, making sure Kai had his thanks. “How’s Kyungsoo?” Kai asked in turn.  
“I think he retired early tonight. But, he’s fine.” Xiumin answered him, causing Kai to let out a sigh of relief.  
“He’ll be fine without you for a single day, Kai.” Baekhyun spoke as he handed Chanyeol a bottle of whiskey before he started stitching him up. Jongdae couldn’t hold back his chuckle.

Kai shrugged, “Forgive me if I prefer to check for myself.” He said, before giving a bow to excuse himself. 

Any chance of a conversation quickly vanished after Kai left as Baekhyun began to stitch up Chanyeol. Who was not making it any easier for himself. 

“I can do it.” Xiumin finally said with a sigh, rolling up his shirt sleeves past his elbows as he walked over to the bed where both Chanyeol and Baekhyun were sitting. Baekhyun moved without being asked to, moving to sit on his knees behind Chanyeol. “You're going to have to hold him. Jongdae, you may have to step in and help. But, Chanyeol. Drink more of that whiskey.” Quickly Chanyeol did as he was told, taking large drinks from the bottle despite how much he was grimacing at it. Meanwhile Jongdae was walking over to stand in front of Chanyeol. 

Xiumin took a long look at the wound and pursed his lips together. It was still bleeding, about an inch, inch and a half, of flesh had been taken off from the bullet and Chanyeol got off far too lucky. Baekhyun barely was able to start on the stitches. So not much was even done. Xiumin unceremoniously raised Chanyeol’s arm up, causing him to groan, as he further examined the wound. “You're going to have to keep your arm up.” Xiumin muttered.  
“Grab onto me.” Baekhyun whispered into Chanyeol’s ear and so Chanyeol’s arm reached back so that he can grab onto the back of Baekhyun’s hair. It kept his arm up and out of the way at least, and Baekhyun hung onto Chanyeol’s other arm. Jongdae seemed to be prepared to grab onto Chanyeol if he needed to. 

Xiumin was quick with the needle, but precise. He's done this before. Chanyeol was still groaning and occasionally crying out. His hand clung onto the back of Baekhyun’s head, desperately but trying not to hurt him. While the other one was grabbing Jongdae’s arm with reckless abandon, drawing blood with his nails. Thankfully, it was over pretty quickly, and Xiumin was backing off to let Baekhyun take to bandaging the wound while Chanyeol tried to catch his breath. 

Xiumin stepped into his bathroom to wash all the blood off of his hands, as if it were nothing. Once he was stepping back into the bedroom Chanyeol’s door was opening again. Kris and Tao were walking into the room, thankfully Chanyeol was already bandaged so that all of their attention could settle on Kris.

Xiumin gave Kris a nod when he looked his way, but he didn’t hold his gaze for very long. Kris was quickly looking over at Chanyeol. “You did so good today.” Kris rarely handed out compliments like this, only when he genuinely meant them. Chanyeol tried to stand up but Baekhyun was quick to pull him back to sitting on the bed, even if did end up hurting Chanyeol a bit.

“Forgive me for not being able to bow.”  
“I think you have a good excuse.” Kris snorted as he let out a soft breath. “Plus, once that gambling ring gets cleaned up it’ll make us a good amount of money.” Kris ran his hands through his hair as he thought it over.

“Now you’ll have to forgive me. But, we should be expect retaliation.” Xiumin said and Kris only nodded.  
“I know. But, you’re sounding like Suho now. Speaking of which.. Where is he?”  
“He retired early.”  
“Shame.”

Xiumin did feel bad for Suho at this point. Once he heard that Chanyeol was injured he’d want to be with him immediately to check on him. But, Xiumin still stood by his decision to make himself clear, even if that meant sending him to his room like a child.

It was then that Luhan entered the room. His eyes immediately went to Kris, ignoring all the others. “We need to talk.”  
“Can it wait?”  
“No, sir. It cannot.” At this, Kris groaned and turned to face Luhan, his hands on his hips.  
“I’d honestly prefer to say it in private.”  
“You’re going to say it now or not at all.”

Luhan sighed and shook his head for a moment before looking back up at Kris. “A little bird told me that the person who killed one of our own was actually doing us a favor. He betrayed us and had a hit out on one of us higher ups. So.. Whoever killed him either was whoever he was working for, or it was one of us..” Everyone bristled as Luhan finished his statement. Kris looked ready to kill someone, however. The one person that could probably calm him down was Tao, but even Tao knew better than to interfere when it came to “family” business. 

\---------

Meanwhile, after the bronzen assassin left Chanyeol’s room he walked through the mansion until he slowly opened another door. All the lights were out in the room, but with the light that was spilling in from the hallway it was easy to see the young man that was asleep in the bed. He was laying on his stomach and the blankets were down just enough to see his strong bare back. 

Kai was as silent as he could be while he shut the door behind him and approached the bed as he ditched his coat and belt. Slowly, so he didn’t wake him, he slipped into the bed with Kyungsoo. Gently he laid an arm over Kyungsoo’s back as he laid his head on his shoulder, listening to him breathe. 

Apparently he wasn’t as quiet as he possibly could be, since soon Kyungsoo was groaning underneath him as he stretched out, causing Kai to move his head and arm off of him. “ _You’re late…_ ” Kyungsoo’s tired voice croaked out as he slowly turned to meet Kai’s gaze, even if he was having trouble keeping his eyes open.

“I know. But, I’m still here.” Kyungsoo just groaned in response to Kai’s words. He completely rolled onto his back and with his eyes closed he held his arms out to Kai. Kai didn’t waste a moment before he was curling up against Kyungsoo with his head resting above Kyungsoo’s heart, listening to it beat. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Kyungsoo’s scratchy voice spoke up again.  
“Not much to talk about.”  
“Hm.” Was all Kyungsoo did to respond.

Kai listened to the steady rhythm of Kyungsoo’s heart. He always was soothed by his heartbeat. It was a reassurance. Kyungsoo was safe. He was okay. He was alive and here. But, Kai only stayed there for so long before he leaned up to press his lips against Kyungsoo’s. The other man was tired, but still returned the kiss. After a few moments Kyungsoo seemed to wake up some as one of his hands took to running through Kai’s hair just before he went to deepen the kiss.

It was slow and long, but that pace was normal for them. They took their time with each other, enjoyed each other. So, it was never a surprise for a kiss like this to slowly turn into something that would cost them hours of sleep. 

Tonight was no different.


	4. Assaults

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _... When I see you, when I see you, I keep getting chills._   
>  _I’m feeling something way more dangerous than love coming right at me.._

An entire week passed after the scene at the bar. Lay ended up continuing to try and work for Luhan after that. The second time he went to the bar he did not have as easy as a time as he did the first time. But, he was able to walk away with tidbits of information, it was enough to appease Luhan. The next few times it did get a little easier as Lay found his comfort zone. He was far from a good spy, but Luhan seemed to be growing proud of his new “little bird”. Luhan kept assuring Lay that given time and practice he’d be a fine spy. 

Lay still wasn’t sure about that. 

Meanwhile, it was blatantly obvious to everyone that Lay and Suho have been avoiding each other. Suho previously was so protective of the little lamb, but now the two never spoke of each other. Even the rare time they’d pass each other in the hallways Suho would not even glance at Lay. Lay wished he was that strong to keep his eyes off of Suho, but every time he saw him he couldn’t help but to focus in on him. It stung to feel so invisible to him now.

Finally, Jongdae started to press Lay about why he and Suho were avoiding each other one day over lunch.

“Look, if it’s because of what happened at the bar..”  
“It’s not. Not really.” Lay failed to realize this only made Jongdae more curious and more concerned.  
“What happened? What’d he do to you?” Jongdae was convinced Suho must’ve done something terrible for Lay to not even mention him for a week. 

Lay found himself losing his appetite. When he looked up from his food Jongdae was looking like a puppy at him. So, he sighed and looked away.

“It’s what he didn’t do, I guess.” Lay muttered, making Jongdae raise an eyebrow and tilt his head in confusion. But, after gently pushing Lay a little bit more Jongdae finally got Lay to tell him everything. The story that Lay told Jongdae left him reeling, trying to imagine Suho being so physically intimate with someone, even for a brief moment. But, the story also made his heart go out to Lay. 

“Lay.. Listen I’ve known Suho for a while. I haven’t seen him get close with anyone. I mean.. He cares about us all, but more like a parent. As I’ve said before, he’s all business. Don’t hold it against him.” Jongdae was trying to help ease the pain, but it didn’t help Lay feel any better. He knew Jongdae was trying though so he forced a weak smile on his face in response. 

They had another “guy's’ night”, and it surprised Lay that no one asked about what happened between he and Suho. He figured Jongdae must’ve said something to them, thankfully enough. 

Another week passed and Lay and Suho still have been avoiding each other. The gambling ring was also open by now, and there’s yet to have been any retaliation for it.

Lay was scheduled to work for Luhan at the club for another night.

“Sehun..?” Lay idly asked as he sat in the passenger seat of a car alone with him. Luhan needed to take care of some business at the club so he went ahead of them.  
“Yeah?” He answered, briefly glancing off the road to look at Lay, trying to not let his gaze linger on him too long. But, the black button up he was wearing was awfully distracting, considering it hugged his figure and a few of the top buttons were open, one more than was necessary so his upper chest was completely exposed.  
“Does.. Does Luhan ever get jealous? I mean, considering what you do..” Lay did feel bad for asking this question, but Sehun has more or less been a good sport the entire time with him. He’d take several rude, dumb, or simply random questions from him. 

Sehun just smirked for a while before he answered.

“Oh, yeah. He gets jealous. But, he’s pretty good at being objective when it comes to work. He knows people can look but can’t touch.. So, I guess I’m lucky in that aspect?” Sehun finally responded, earning a surprised look from Lay. But, considering they weren’t exactly normal people he figured he could understand, at least kind of.

He accepted Sehun’s answer for what it was at least.

They arrived at the bar and Sehun led him inside before breaking off from him. He’s gotten used to the ebb and flow of the bar, knowing which types to completely avoid, not to waste his time on and who seemed particularly vulnerable to “needing a shoulder to cry on.” He did not necessarily get pleasure from digging information from people, but he was growing comfortable in it. More often than not he’d end up getting flattered and some shameless flirting never hurt anyone. 

It was nice to feel wanted. He liked to think that the men and women he spoke with felt similar.

But, today was the first time he’s seen a familiar face in the crowd.

The tan black haired beauty from before ended up shoulder checking Lay since he wasn’t really paying attention to what was right in front of him. “Oh, shit. Sorry, man.” The smooth voice was quick to apologize and Lay turned to offer up his own apology, but froze when he saw Dean in front of him. He was unsure of how to react to him. It left an awkward silence in the air.

Dean finally broke the silence by holding up a pack of cigarettes. “I’m going to step outside for a smoke. Care to join me?” He asked with a bold smirk on his face that made Lay’s stomach do flips.  
“I.. Don’t smoke.” Lay knew it probably sounded lame to him, but he genuinely did not. Never tried it, never really wanted to.  
“That’s fine. Do you want to keep me company then?” Dean asked with a slight chuckle, making Lay take a moment to think on it.  
“Okay.” He agreed with a nod of his head. He knew there were bouncers by the door at all time, so it wouldn’t hurt.

The pair walked outside and stood a few yards from the door as Dean took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth before he put the pack of cigarettes up and fished in his jeans’ pockets for his lighter. Lay was transfixed on the way the cigarette loosely hung from his lips. Then he brought the lighter up and cupped the cigarette with his free hand, blocking the slight breeze, and then he lit the cigarette. Lay watched him intently the entire time, the way the light of the small flame danced on the palm of his hand and on his lips was enough to make his throat run dry. Then Dean pocketed the lighter and took hold of the cigarette with two fingers, seemingly sucking on the cigarette before he removed it from his lips and let out a deep breath, the smoke escaping his lips as he did so.

Who knew smoking could look so good?

Lay realized Dean knew he was staring once he caught Lay looking at him from the corner of his eye, promptly making Lay glance away for a moment as Dean let out a little chuckle. “Hey.. I’m sorry about the last time we met.”  
“Why?”  
“ _Why?_ ” Lay’s face scrunched up as he looked at the man in front of him. “Because you had your life threatened because of me.”  
“Don’t ever apologize for someone else’s actions, Lay. What Suho did isn’t your fault. Unless you told him to do that.” Dean’s response caught Lay off guard. Granted, he made a point.  
“I didn’t tell him to do that.”  
“Then don’t be sorry.”

There was a moment of silence between the two as Dean flicked the cigarette and Lay watched the embers fall to the ground. 

“You should style your hair like that more often.” Dean broke the silence as he looked up from the ground to meet Lay’s dark eyes. “You look really good.” 

Lay wore a sheepish smile on his face as he looked at his feet. He even had to admit Sehun was right about him needing help getting ready. He styled his hair so it was up off his forehead again and gave it a slightly tousled look. They even went shopping for more clothes and outfits, thankfully not with his own money. Despite how burdened he felt Sehun was merely picking out outfits left and right. So, he was able to have a legitimate diamond earring in his ear tonight. He actually looked like he was somewhat wealthy. But, he also looked quite handsome, if he said so himself. Although, Sehun would use another word. 

“Thank you.” Lay finally responded when he felt he could look up at Dean without blushing. Dean merely gave a respectful nod before he took another drag. “Can I ask you how you know Suho?” He was curious after all. Suho and he didn't seem like they were exactly friendly. Dean only looked over at Lay with a hint of a smirk on his face. 

“Say, how much do you know about Suho?” Dean asked rather than answer Lay’s question.  
“Not much if I'm being honest. Just that he'd do anything for his family.” Lay figured he could use Suho’s own words that previously unnerved him to compliment him. Make it seem like Lay and Suho were in good standing with each other. The last thing he wanted was for Dean to speak ill of Suho. 

“Ahh.. You’re too right, Lay. He'd do _anything._ God help anyone that dared to even consider making a move against his family.” Dean looked straight ahead as he spoke before flicking more ash to the ground. “But, to be fair with you. It's complicated. He and I have bumped into each other time to time. I guess we’re rivals in some aspects. But, I think he's a lot more competitive, even if he won't admit it. Me? I don't get too competitive I guess, but I honestly think we are too alike in some ways.” Dean explained, rather cryptically, before taking a long drag on the cigarette as if he desperately needed it before tilting his head upwards to blow the smoke into the air. 

There was a long silence as Lay tried to decipher what Dean told him. A proper spy should be able to connect dots, after all. He didn't even realize Dean finished smoking until he heard him crushing the cigarette butt with his boot. When Lay looked up Dean was turning to completely face him, there was a much darker look in his eye that made Lay feel like a boy who had no idea what he was getting himself into. “Lay.. Can I kiss you?” Dean promptly asked, making Lay’s eyes widen in shock at the bluntness of it. 

“Aren't you afraid of what Suho said?” Lay was even if Dean wasn't. The threat of death or being flayed alive wasn't exactly the best prospect. But, it made Dean let out a light laugh.  
“The last time he saw me he threatened me. Then when he saw me with you he threatened me. He's yet to make good on his promises. I'm not worried. Plus, look around! There's only that bouncer over there. No Suho in sight.” Dean actually wore a bright smile on his face as he looked around. But Lay found himself wondering what caused Suho to threaten him before he and Lay met. Either way, he did glance around to check for Suho, just in case. But, all he found was the bouncer and a car looking for a parking spot in the parking lot. 

Then he realized Dean was intently staring at him with those dark eyes. Lay shifted his weight on his feet before he glanced down a little bit and nodded. 

Why the hell not?

Dean was slow to close the distance between them, Lay appreciated that much. It made Dean look like he wasn't _too_ eager. But a rough hand was placed on Lay’s cheek to guide his face towards Dean’s. Lay’s eyes naturally fell shut and Dean’s lips connected with his own. 

It was strange and stiff at first, but Lay felt as if that was because of him and his lack of “practice.” Yet, Dean still tilted his head to the side some more to attempt to deepen the kiss, and Lay let him. 

It wasn't what he expected. The kiss was sloppy, if he needed to pick a word to describe it. Not to mention Dean tasted like ash right now and it wasn't flattering for him in Lay’s mind. But, it certainly was far from a bad kiss. 

Maybe it simply wasn't what Lay wanted. 

Dean’s hands were cupping Lay’s face with a firm grip. He wasn't necessarily holding him in place. But, Dean probably could if he held on a little bit tighter. 

Suddenly Lay was getting ripped from Dean’s grasp. 

His eyes widened and a gasp escaped him as he was pulled backwards away from Dean. Immediately he was very much afraid that Suho actually caught them somehow. Yet, when he met Dean’s gaze he didn't seem bothered in the slightest. He still wore a half smirk on his face. It was then that a hand covered his mouth. Dean let out a soft sigh as he casually followed after Lay. Lay could hear a car door opening before he was literally being dragged inside, despite how much he was struggling. 

“You make this too easy, kid.” Dean said as he joined Lay and whoever had a strong grip on him in the backseat of the car. 

_... Last time I checked it wasn’t lethal to let someone touch you._  
_It is if you give permission to the wrong person..._

\-------------

“This is exactly what I was talking about!” Suho’s voice boomed in the place he first officially met Lay. Everyone was sitting in their seats except for Suho. So, Kris was dead center of the long wooden table. Xiumin was to his right and then it went Luhan, Kai, and Baekhyun. To his left was Suho’s empty seat, and then Kyungsoo, Chanyeol and Jongdae. Tao was standing behind Kris’s chair while Sehun was standing in front of the table with a pacing Suho. 

“Suho-” Xiumin started and Suho gave him quite the glare.  
“No. I told you my concerns. I said they weren't keeping a close enough eye on him. And I was right.”  
“I'm sorry, Suho. But, we will get him back.” Sehun was trying to ease Suho’s anger, but it was Sehun’s turn to receive a glare.  
“Suho, if you want to blame anyone. Blame me.” Luhan spoke up the second Suho’s eyes turned on Sehun.  
“Oh, I am.”  
“It's my fault too. I wasn't there like I should've been.” Jongdae voiced, earning him a side eye from Xiumin, but no response from Suho. 

Suho slowly ran his hand through his hair with a light groan. 

“I'll go get him.” Tao suddenly voiced, his hands gripping tightly onto the back of Kris’s chair, so much so his knuckles were white.  
“No.” Kris quickly shot it down, without looking at Tao, but everyone’s attention was on Tao at this point.  
“None of you can get into where he's being held. They'll know all you.” Tao argued back as his gaze looked around the room.  
“Sehun can go.” Kris once again shot it down.  
“No he can't! They know who he is and that he is Luhan’s favorite at the very least! But, they don't know me. No one does.” Tao was still arguing his case and he even made Xiumin and Luhan start nodding in agreement. But Kris frowned when Tao said that no one knew him.

“If it helps.. I have an idea.” Luhan broke the long silence between everyone. 

\--------------

Lay found himself being sat down in a wooden chair, his hands handcuffed behind his back. He was clearly in an office. It looked like it was Dean’s office as far as Lay could tell. But, he didn’t have a single idea where he was actually at. A hood was placed on his head in the car and it removed when he was sat down a few hours ago. 

On top of being terrified of his fate, he was so tired. It was too late for any kind of coherent thought. But, the adrenaline that was still coursing through his veins kept him awake. It didn't help that he was alone with his thoughts for the few hours he's been here. 

Finally, the door opened. Lay didn't know if he should be grateful that something was going to happen or if he should be terrified. 

When he looked over he saw Dean enter the room and his eyes promptly shot down to the ground. He was embarrassed and ashamed of himself. He probably could have easily avoided this situation. 

Dean didn't say a word as he walked in, but Lay could watch his feet step further into the room and closer to Lay. Lay found himself holding his breath when Dean stood right in front of him. Dean's hand reached out to rest under Lay’s chin, causing the boy to flinch. But, Dean gently raised his head to meet his gaze. His soft touch was a stark contrast to the cruel smirk resting on his face. 

“I'll be honest with you, Lay. At first you were just a threat to the family that's taken you in. But, unfortunately for you… They had the gall to attack us, steal away one of our businesses. So I have to make good on that threat.” Dean explained, causing Lay to pull his head back so that Dean was no longer touching him. This made an amused sound leave the other man’s throat before he stepped around to stand behind Lay. Suddenly Dean’s hands were on his shoulders, causing Lay to jump. Then he felt Dean’s breath on one of his ears. 

“Wasn't it fun though?” Dean purred into Lay’s ear, making Lay slam his eyes shut and grit his teeth. A low chuckle left Dean as he felt Lay tense up. “I didn't expect Suho to be so protective of you. That was a pleasant surprise. You aren't family to him, after all. Hm. I wonder if you were a candidate to become something more to him.” Dean let the thought hang in the air for an agonizingly long amount of time. 

A hand of Dean’s slid down onto Lay’s chest, causing the boy to try and shut his eyes even tighter. “You're so sensitive. I didn't think I would have your legs shaking like a newborn deer before Suho arrived the first time we met.” Dean chuckled once again at this and Lay found himself swallowing. Everything he previously found attractive in this man vanished so quickly. 

The hand that was still on Lay’s chest removed itself and there was silence for a few moments. Then Lay could feel Dean’s arm resting on his shoulder instead. “Open your eyes, kid.” Lay slowly did as he was told. When his eyes were open he found that Dean was holding a phone up so he could see it clearly. A photo was on the screen. It was dark and hard to make out at first. But, once Lay figured out what he was looking at it was all too clear. Around the top of the photo was Sehun putting on a show and at first it looked like it was a simple photo of the crowd. But, dead center was Lay, staring up at Sehun with his hips rocked to the side while he was mid dance. It was a photo taken the first night he went to the bar. 

“You see.. I got to send this lovely photo of you to our dear friend, Suho. I asked him if he misplaced something before I went to speak with you. It's a bit of a shame he came too soon. I missed out on a dance and he missed out on interrupting the dance. Now _that_ would've been even better.” Dean laughed as he locked the phone and put it back up, or so Lay assumed since it was out of his sight. 

“How do you know me?”  
“Oh, it’s simple really. I saw you the night of your little accident.”  
“Were you the one that..?” Lay couldn't finish his question.  
“Pulled the trigger? No. But, I saw who did. It's a damn shame you can't remember. You do know who it is, afterall.”

Lay’s eyes slammed shut again, trying to prevent his mind from shutting down on him. Okay, so someone from the family murdered a guy right in front of him. Okay, that'd be fine. Right? No.. It was one of their own wasn't it? _Shit.._

“What about Suho?”  
“Hm? I met him that night too.”

Lay felt his grasp on his mentality slip. He felt like he was going to vomit. So, Suho was..

The door to the office suddenly opened and Dean groaned as he stood up straight and pulled his hands off of Lay. “What is it?!” He snapped, causing Lay to jump in his chair. 

“You know how some of the men wanted some.. Entertainment for the evening?” A voice spoke up, but Lay did not look up, he continued to look straight down at his lap as his hands balled up and he pulled against the handcuffs.  
“Yes. They got the strippers. What of it?”  
“Well, the girls arrived. But.. They also had this man with them.” At that Lay looked up, hopeful to see Sehun. But, instead he saw a gruff looking man push Tao into the room. Either way Lay was desperately trying to focus on not letting it slip that he knew him. 

“Are you seriously offended by that? My God..” Dean groaned behind Lay and he must've waved the man at the door off because he suddenly left and shut the door. 

Lay’s eyes stole another glance at Tao, who briefly met his gaze, before he looked back down. Tao looked expensive as usual, even if he was dressed rather simply compared to his usual outfits. He wore a tight fitting black leather jacket and a heather gray top that showed the top of his chest and a silver chain resting on it with its deep collar with dark pants that were a little too tight fitting. 

“Alright, I'm going to give you a single chance to explain.” Dean spoke as he moved over to sit behind his desk.  
“You called in a lot of girls. I was sent as an added bonus. Besides.. What do they say.. One out of every ten people is gay. So if any of your men swing that way, or if you have any ladies.. I will be sure to make them all too happy. And you aren't paying for me. I came free of charge. But, I'll never turn down tips.” Tao spoke with that cheery smile of his. But, to Lay it looked more like a sly smile now.  
“Of course you won't.” Dean said with a sigh as he rubbed his forehead, definitely trying to figure out what to do with Tao. 

Meanwhile Tao turned his complete attention over to Lay, who started to avoid his gaze. “He's a cutie.” Tao voiced before letting out a small giggle of his. Lay couldn't see that Dean was focused on Tao now. But, Lay could see Tao making his way over to him. And much like Dean did earlier, Tao went to stand behind him. Both of Tao’s hands went to rest on his chest, one was blatantly playing with one of the buttons that was still buttoned. It was one of the buttons that Sehun wanted to unbutton to add that extra sex appeal, but Lay didn’t let him.

It wasn’t long before he felt Tao’s breath on his ear, much like he felt Dean’s. He looked ahead of him to find Dean’s eyes carefully trained on he and Tao. What the hell was Tao doing? Was he trying to get them both killed??

Then Tao started to whisper in his ear. He whispered things that Lay could never repeat without turning into a flustered mess. So, really soon his cheeks began to turn red. Tao didn’t stop. Lay’s ears and even his chest began to flush with color. What if Kris ever heard Tao telling Lay all these things? Kris would kill him for sure. He doubted he liked to have much competition. 

At this thought Lay finally became flustered enough to look back down and he felt Tao lean in closer to his ear. 

“I’m going to get you out. There’s a car outside waiting for us.” Tao finished up his whispering, but nipped playfully at Lay’s ear before he pulled away. He moved to stand between the desk and the chair Lay was in and shot a look back at Lay, letting out that infectious laugh of his. “Oh, did I say too much?” He asked with a cocky grin on his face before he turned to a rather unimpressed looking Dean. “Sorry, I can’t resist a man in handcuffs.” 

“Right.. Well, let’s figure out where to put you tonight..” Dean said as he stood up from the desk and walked outside of the office with Tao in tow, shutting the door behind him again. Once again Lay found himself alone for about an hour. 

When the door was opened this time around it was only Tao. His jacket was missing to reveal his top was sleeveless. Lay was surprised by the muscle definition of his arms, but he didn't linger on that thought. Tao quickly shut the door and went up behind Lay. Next thing Lay knew one of his wrists was free from the handcuffs before the handcuffs fell off of him and onto the floor completely. Lay rubbed his wrists that were already bruised from him trying to escape them too much already. 

“Come on, we have to move quickly, but act like you belong. Because we only get this one chance at escape.” Tao said as he pulled Lay to his feet. Okay, that certainly put the pressure on. So he did as he was told and shadowed right behind Tao as they exited the office. The building was busy. But the strippers they apparently called in to help them celebrate gave Tao and Lay the distraction they needed to slip out the front doors. Which, Lay found the two guards that were likely supposed to be standing there, dead. He didn't let himself linger on that for too long. He focused completely on Tao as the walked over to the side walk. 

“I stole the son of a bitch’s wallet too.” Tao giggled, apparently thinking they were home free. So, Lay allowed himself to relax his tense muscles. They especially relaxed when he saw a running car. It wasn't a fancy once, but it fit the run down neighborhood plenty well. Lay could see Luhan sitting in the driver's seat and the passenger door was opening. 

That was the first time Suho and Lay made eye contact in two weeks. Suddenly there was a wave of relief that washed over him. 

Only for that to be swallowed up by the fear of what happened the night of his accident. Lay would be considered a loose end. What if the gun was pointed at him following the murder?

The back door was also opening and Kai was getting out of it to walk up to greet Tao and Lay. The pair began to walk faster since home seemed so close. 

That's when they actually heard the yelling. When Lay saw Suho’s eyes narrow he turned to look behind him. 

Shots rang out as three men came around the corner and began to fire their guns at them. Tao grabbed onto Lay’s arm so he could break into a sprint with him. 

Suddenly it was getting so hard to breathe. Then again, Lay was scared out of his mind at the moment. So, he turned and took a step in tandem with Tao. Immediately Lay found himself dropping onto the pavement as he cried out. He landed on his stomach, causing a searing pain to rip through his chest. Tao stopped to run over to help him back up, but he only managed to roll him over onto his back before he froze. 

Lay’s hand was clutching wildly at the left side of his chest. The pain he was feeling was white hot and made it so hard to breathe. Speaking of, every time he did try and take a breathe that white hot stabbing pain only intensified. He looked up and saw that Kai was almost eerily calm as he took steps forward, past Lay and directly towards the gunfire. He pulled a pistol out from under his coat between his pants and the small of his back. Kai pulled the trigger. Lay heard the loud bang before the ringing in his ears started. He was too close to the gunfire. The look on Kai’s face was terrifyingly serious as he went to pull the trigger again. 

Lay’s eyes rolled back as he lost consciousness. 

\---------

Kai pulled the trigger three times. That was all he needed to put down the three men that were shooting at them. 

Suho was scrambling over to Lay while Kai began yelling that they needed to leave. But, Luhan was exiting the car and ordering Tao to get in the driver’s seat. Tao was staring down at Lay as blood rushed from a small hole on his chest. It took Suho yelling at him for him to snap out of it and do as he was told.

Suho took Tao’s place on the ground next to Lay. He leaned in close to Lay’s mouth and heard him make this awful gurgling sound. “Luhan! The bullet hit a lung. It's filling with blood!” Suho’s voice was frantic at this point as he looked over at Luhan. Luhan was running over and quickly plopped down next to Suho. Kai groaned in frustration but stood next to three, his gun still raised and prepared to shoot down anyone down that came around that corner. 

Luhan held a pen in his hand and he looked up at Suho before he looked at Lay. Suho gave him a curt nod before he grimaced. Suho was thankful Lay was unconscious because he knew it was going to hurt. 

Luhan brought the pen down on Luhan’s chest with one swift movement, making it puncture Lay’s chest. Then his fingers quickly worked to remove the top of the pen and pull out the ink and everything else inside of it. Almost immediately blood began to drain out of the pen. “It'll buy us just a little bit of time. But we have to get him to a proper hospital, now.” Luhan spoke, earning a nod from Suho. Kai promptly fired two more times when two men ran around the corner. Suho knew he only had two more bullets left before he'd have to reload.

The pair stood up and both worked together to pick up Lay and move him into the backseat of the car. Once he was inside they both awkwardly got into the backseat as well and Kai got into the passenger seat and Tao began to drive off. A few bullets hit the roof of the car as one pierced the window of the backseat, barely missing Suho and Luhan.

“ _Tao!_ ” Luhan voice was surprisingly controlled, but still filled with anger.  
“I’m going! It’s not my fault you picked a slow as shit car!” Tao quickly snapped back. Tao was a good driver, but he was used to fast and expensive cars.  
“Baekhyun could make this car go faster.” Kai spoke up as cooly as he could before another bullet hit the passenger window. It caused the window to spiderweb, but it did not break it.  
“Baekhyun, my ass!” Tao shouted out as he focused on making the car move faster. “He may be a decent taxi driver, but he doesn’t know how to treat a car right.” Tao’s competitive nature that often clashed with Baekhyun’s began to show, and sure enough, the car began to move faster. Meanwhile Kai pointed the pistol right at his window, the shattered glass would put up little resistance. Then he pulled the trigger two more times, completely shattering the passenger window, before he reloaded his gun. Thankfully, they were out of sight now.

Suho sat Lay up as much as he could so Luhan could comfortably sit in the backseat with them. But, Lay was leaning against Suho in the process, so Suho pulled him against his chest instead. He felt Luhan’s eyes on him as he cradled the unconscious boy. But, he paid it no mind, just like the blood that was getting all over him. 

The longer they were in the car the more nervous Suho got. He leaned his head over to make sure he could hear Lay still breathing. But, he was beginning to gasp for air every other breath. His hand that was on Lay’s shoulder began to grip tightly onto him. 

“How much longer?” Suho spoke up with a steady voice, but his heart was racing in his chest.  
“Five minutes.” Kai responded for Tao so he could focus on the road.  
“Make it two. Lay is running out of air.”

The car they were in groaned in a loud protest as Tao pressed harder on the gas. 

“You do realize what you just asked him to do..?” Kai asked as one of his hands reached up to brace against the roof of the car. Meanwhile Luhan was deciding it was now a good idea to buckle his seatbelt in the back seat. Suho didn’t answer, he couldn’t even focus on the way the car was dangerously weaving through traffic.

There were a few times that Tao narrowly avoided getting into a wreck, each time he would start swearing and complaining about how they wouldn’t be in this situation if they only picked a faster car. Lay was gasping more often and the breaths he could take in were so shallow now. Suho took to putting pressure on Lay’s bullet wound, but he didn’t know how much that was actually helping because blood was getting all over the both of them. 

Thankfully they were soon pulling into the front of a hospital emergency room. Luhan quickly was exiting the car and running inside, likely to get someone to come meet them outside. Sure enough, when Kai got out to get the door for Suho there were people running up to the car with a stretcher. It was a group effort to get Lay out of the car, but when they did he was put onto the stretcher and they began running him inside, talking about which operation room they were going to. 

Suho watched as Luhan slowly emerged from the hospital before he glanced back to find Tao standing out of the car and looking over the top of it. Kai was still standing next to him and everyone’s eyes was on him. 

“It’s late. You all get some rest. Send someone to bring me a change of clothes.” He spoke before he turned to walk inside the hospital, still covered in blood.  
“You’re staying?” Tao asked, but Suho didn’t answer him.

Suho calmly strolled inside the hospital, ignoring the stares. He walked straight into the area where the operating rooms were at. No one tried to stop him, and no one would. Kris owned this city and that meant no one would dare to stop Suho, lest they insult the kingpin that ran the city.

He finally found the room that Lay was in and simply stood outside, looking in the sterile white room through a glass window as the surgeon began to try and remove the bullet from Lay’s chest. 

Suho would stand there and wait until they finished the surgery. Then he’d finally go change and go sit in the room that Lay was moved to.

\-------------

“It’s my fault.” Sehun voiced as Luhan closed the door to his bedroom, but it might as well be Sehun’s as well. He was sitting at a small circle table in the bedroom, and drinking while he was at. 

“It’s not your fault.” Luhan spoke with a sigh as he moved deeper into the room, closer to Sehun.  
“How is he?”  
“Lay’s in surgery right now. To be honest it’s a bit touch and go right now.”

Sehun finished off his glass and sat it on the table before a hand covered his face. “I should’ve kept an eye on the floor.”  
“Sehun, you were performing.” Luhan was now standing next to Sehun, looking down at him as he did so.  
“I still should’ve scanned the floor.”

Abruptly Luhan grabbed a fistful of Sehun’s white shirt and pulled him to sit up straighter as Luhan leaned over some. This made Sehun remove his hand from his face and look up at Luhan. “Stop blaming yourself.” Luhan spoke with a low tone as he continued to hang onto Sehun’s shirt. Sehun was wide eyed as he looked up at Luhan who was so serious right now. He swallowed before nodding to the older man.

“Now, do you love me?” Luhan asked and it threw Sehun off guard. Neither of them spoke about love. They both knew where they stood and knew that there was love between them. But, it was always said through actions, never words.

“Yes.” Sehun was quick to respond after he got his bearings, giving Luhan a firm nod in the process.  
“Do you need me?”  
“ _Always._ ” Sehun breathed more than spoke as his eyes stared up at he man above him who never looked more serious.  
“Then kiss me.” Luhan practically ordered of the young man.

Sehun did not have to be told twice. Quickly his lips closed the distance between him and Luhan and began to kiss him. Despite Luhan telling Sehun to kiss him, he quickly took the lead from him and was just as quick to deepen the kiss. Luhan’s hand ran through Sehun’s blonde hair, surprised to find it a little damp. But, he showered recently. He probably should’ve figured that out since Sehun typically only wore his gray sweatpants after a shower and before bed. One of Sehun’s hands reached up so his long fingers could run over Luhan’s chest before he quickly undid one of the buttons of his dress shirt, earning him a growl and for Luhan to take a tighter grip on Sehun’s shirt, which was no doubt wrinkled to hell now.

Luhan broke the kiss and let go of Sehun, who let out a slight whine in protest. But, he moved so he could straddle Sehun in the chair before he assaulted his lips again. Sehun’s arms wrapped around Luhan’s back, pulling him close enough that their chests were pressed against each other, but this resulted in Luhan biting his bottom lip. Luhan was trying to remind Sehun who was really in control here, and he’d be right. Sure, Sehun could practically engulf Luhan’s body with his own. If anyone even walked in right now it’d be hard to see Luhan’s body past his broad shoulders. But, Luhan was so much more dominant than Sehun would ever be. Even if Sehun was occasionally aggressive or rough with him, it’d be because Luhan prompted him to. Luhan was the one in charge of this relationship and Sehun would never mind that. 

Sehun was simply and happily along for the ride.


	5. Memories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _... Coming right at me, your face is something between expressionless and a child’s smile._   
>  _That risky difference of temperature.. Will I be able to handle you?_   
>  _Yeah, the deeper the darkness the better._   
>  _It all appears.. Show ya, show ya, babe..._

“They took what was mine.” Kris’s voice spoke up as he rolled a gold coin between his fingers. His modest biceps were visible due to the fact while he was wearing a large black coat over his shoulders, he did not put his arms through it. It also helped that the red shirt he was wearing clung to figure. 

He was seated in Chanyeol’s office, in Chanyeol’s chair. But, Chanyeol didn’t seem to mind. He simply sat in another seat across the desk. Meanwhile Baekhyun sat next to Chanyeol and Kai was standing behind the two. “They snatched Lay up in one of our own buildings. I will not tolerate this insult. I want that building of theirs burned to the ground. I also want everyone inside of it killed, well.. Except that Dean I keep hearing about. I want him alive.” Kris’s eyes went between the three. Chanyeol was still healing from the raid two and a half weeks ago, but the man was like a fighting dog. So, he was coolly nodding in agreement. 

“Their stronghold?” Baekhyun asked for clarification.  
“I guess so. Whatever it was that Lay was taken to.” Kris shrugged as he stopped rolling the coin between his fingers and tightly held onto it in his palm. “If it is their stronghold, well I guess we cut the head off the snake then. And shortly after the assault we will absorb their properties.”

“Would we be moving too quickly?” Kai spoke up, but he didn’t look concerned at all. “I mean.. We did just get Lay back about twelve hours ago.” He added as if to make his point.  
“Maybe. But, who would we be if we did not make a move this quickly? Our rep on the streets would be tarnished if someone could slap us in the face without losing their head.” Kris said as his free hand went under Chanyeol’s desk. He quickly found the large pistol that was strapped to the underside of the desk and pulled it out and cocked it. Baekhyun was the only one that bristled when the gun was aimed towards the trio. But, Kris’s finger was not on the trigger and Chanyeol knew the safety was still on. 

Kris smirked as the gun was now aimed directly at Baekhyun and the safety was taken off. This was when Chanyeol bristled and sat up straighter in his chair. “If someone came in this office and did exactly what I was doing right now.. What would you do?” Kris asked Chanyeol in an amused tone.  
Chanyeol nodded over to a rifle on the wall. “They’d be dead before they got the chance.” He muttered, not caring for this display in the slightest.

Kris finally nodded and put the safety back on the pistol before sitting it on the desk. “Then pretend that’s what they did. I want this taken care of. Take as many men and supplies as you need. But, I want that building reduced to ashes tonight.” 

“Yes sir.” The three men all spoke together.

\-----------

Long after the sunset the men made their move. 

“Don’t do anything until you have the clear from me.” Kai warned as he slipped on leather gloves and put a rifle case over one of his shoulders. Then he was sliding out of the back seat of the car to run across the street. The man was in all black to help him move undetected at night. Black boots, black pants, black shirt, and even a black coat. 

He climbed up a fire escape to an old apartment building so he could get easy access to the roof. Once he was close to the top he swore under his breath when he saw a man standing watch on top of it, making his rounds around the roof. 

Kai waited until he could run to stand against the door to the roof, waiting for the other man to come around the wall. Kai’s hand reached to his belt and he unsheathed a large knife from it. The handle of the knife also made brass knuckles, it was a wonderfully well rounded close quarters weapon. 

The moment he saw the man’s boot start to step around the corner Kai lunged out and was quick to use one hand to cover his mouth as he used his arm to slam him into the wall and keep him there as the knife made quick work of the man. 

He pulled away the bloody knife and held a finger up to his lips, still keeping his other hand on the man’s mouth, as the man slid down the wall. Kai crouched down to be able to keep his hand over his mouth as his eyes remained locked with the man’s. The moment he saw the spark of life fade from the man he used the man’s jacket to wipe the blood from his blade before sheathing it and moving to the edge of the roof. 

He crouched down to remove the rifle case from his shoulder and unzip it. He deftly put the rifle together and loaded it. The man rested the barrel on the edge of the roof as he peered through the scope and gave the building across the road a once over. 

“You have two guards at the door. And.. There’s a patrol of two more making their rounds around the building.” Kai spoke as he continued to survey the building. “I won’t really have many chances to help you out once you’re inside. But, I’ll take out anyone who’s dumb enough to go next to any of the windows.” He advised the others who were listening through ear pieces.  
“You heard the man, let’s get on with this.” Chanyeol’s voice picked up over Kai’s ear piece. 

Kai moved so he could see Chanyeol’s tall figure next to Baekhyun as they moved down the sidewalk with another small group of men in tow. They were quick and silent to take out the patrol as they made their way up to the guards at the door. Unfortunately there was no quick or silent way to take them out, they were forced to open fire. A few gunshots rang out as the guards at the door dropped.

Another shot rang out and Kai watched Chanyeol drop down and cover his head. He wasn’t injured, Kai could tell that much from the way Chanyeol moved. But, he quickly moved his gaze to the direction of where the bullet came from and found a guy who was peeking around the corner of the building with a cigarette in his mouth, clearly out for a smoke break. 

There was a loud crack as the “Bad News” sniper rifle Kai was using echoed throughout the neighborhood. The man on the receiving end of the bullet was quickly taken down as Kai’s focus went to the windows of the building.

“ _Untouchable, my ass.._ ” Kai muttered under his breath. Chanyeol started to argue with him over their comms but Kai fired again, the sound of the echo drowned Chanyeol out.

\---

“Screw this! It’s game time.” Chanyeol ordered everyone to the door. Unfortunately, they were able to lock the doors in time. But, Chanyeol did not mess around when it came to firepower. He put his pistol in his holster that was underneath his jacket before he pulled the shotgun that was resting at his side due to its shoulder strap. He racked the shotgun before he opened fire on the door. The bullets easily punctured the door and destroyed any deadbolts that might’ve been locking it in place. Then the door was met with a swift kick that broke it off its hinges and Chanyeol stepped to the side to let the small team funnel inside while he quickly reloaded the gun.

Within only a few minutes the group eliminated any threat that was remaining within the building. Unfortunately, they could not find Dean. But, they didn’t have time to linger on it. Chanyeol and Baekhyun told the small group of people to start pouring gasoline all throughout the building. Meanwhile he and Baekhyun were in the kitchen of the building. 

“So kind of them to have a gas stove.” Baekhyun said with a sly smile as he went and turned on the stove. “But, you know.. These things cause accidents all the time..” He added with grin before they worked on pouring gasoline in the kitchen and then out to the door. Once everyone was outside Baekhyun lit a match and dropped it on the gasoline before they all scattered across the streets. 

It was at this time that they heard the sirens. Luckily it was only one cop car that was approaching them.

“What do you say Chanyeol..?” Kai quietly asked through their ear piece.  
“If things go south pull the trigger. But, you know it’s best to avoid cops.” Chanyeol responded before the older man stepped out of the car.

“Chanyeol?” He asked as he leaned against his open car door, not stepping out from behind it.  
“Yes, sir.”  
“I uhh..” The cop turned to look at the building that was engulfed in flames. “Gas leak?” The cop asked the group of openly armed men.  
“Gas leak. Damn shame really. You know that accidents happen all the time.” Baekhyun answered the question with a grin on his face.  
“Well.. I suggest you get out of here then. I’d hate for the fire to hurt any bystanders.” The cop said as he scratched the back of his head nervously. He was in Kris’s pocket for sure. He wore a wedding ring on his hand and there were probably photos of kids in his wallet. He knew better than to involve himself in this mess.

“Kai. We’re leaving.” Chanyeol said and they all made their way to their cars. A few minutes later Kai was crawling into the backseat so they could drive off. As they left the neighborhood they could hear the sirens of fire trucks and police cars fill the neighborhood. 

\-------

It was another day when Lay finally was awake for longer than five minutes. He groaned as he tried to sit up in the bed he was in. Quickly he abandoned that idea and went to lay back down when he realized it hurt far too much, especially due to a painful tugging in his left side when he tried to sit up. He wasn’t aware of the chest tube that was inside his left side to drain the excess fluid in his lung.

When he laid his head back down and looked up at the ceiling he found himself already out of breath. 

His eyes went to the IV pole next to the bed he was in. _Of course_. After two and half weeks he was in the hospital again. 

Immediately his brown eyes darted to the other side of the bed when he saw movement in the corner of his eye. His gaze lazily met Suho’s. Suho still somehow looked so well put together with his faded black shirt and jeans. His hair was not perfectly styled like it typically was, a few strands hung down on his forehead, and there were fresh bags under his eyes. How did he still manage to make casual and exhaustion look so formal?

Lay was a mess compared. He was sweaty and his hair was gross and greasy from the sweat. Even worse he was in a hospital gown. _Again_. 

“Hey..” Suho’s typically firm voice took on a softness that Lay did not know was possible. He could feel his heart stammer in his chest. But, he still had that lazy gaze on him. Lay’s expression was surprisingly neutral, despite his heart trying to figure out what it was doing. Must be the medicine in his system causing that. “How are you feeling, Lay?” Suho asked as he leaned forward in the chair he was sitting in.

Lay took a moment to process Suho’s question, but in reality it was longer than that. “I hurt.” Lay answered with a hoarse and breathless voice. Suho’s eyebrows furrowed when Lay answered him.  
“I can get the doctors to give you some more pain medication if you need it.”  
“No..” Lay didn’t bother to say anything more. 

“I’m sorry for what happened to you, Lay.” Suho spoke and Lay slowly blinked as he tried to figure out how to take his apology.  
“Don’t.. Ever apologize for someone else’s actions.” By the time Lay finished repeating Dean’s words to Suho he was practically gasping for breath. His lungs tried to take in a deep breath, but a stabbing pain in his left side made him wince and hiss in pain. Apparently it hurt just to talk. 

Suho looked surprised but immediately concern overtook his expression. He stood up and walked over to the hospital bed. His hands held onto the railing and Lay found himself looking straight up at Suho. “Can I get you anything.. Water? Or..?” Suho offered and Lay’s heart began to stutter again. It finally decided what it wanted to do and it raced away. 

Lay was still only looking up at Suho with a neutral expression, but his heart was quick to betray him. A beeping startled Lay as he looked around it for the source. Suho already found the heart monitor. His lips pursed together as he quite literally watched Lay’s heart race. 

Soon a nurse was entering the room to respond to the alarm going off. She quickly did an assessment of Lay and asked a variety of questions to see if he was in too much pain or not. But, she was confused to find that there seemed to be no obvious cause to Lay’s accelerated heart rate. “I’ll call the doctor and see about scheduling you for an echocardiogram.”  
“Ma’am.” Suho spoke up and the woman turned to look at him in surprise, almost as if she was just now registering his presence. “I don’t think that’ll be necessary. I think it was me..” His firm and sure voice was back as if nothing happened.  
“ _Oh.._ Well, please. Try to avoid doing whatever you did to cause that. Lay needs to focus on getting better.” The nurse sternly told Suho once she seemed to understand the situation before she left the room.

Suho lightly chuckled as he returned to his seat. That made Lay angry. He didn’t have the right to laugh because he flustered Lay. Especially after walking out on him that one night without even explaining himself and apologizing. So, Lay turned his head to look at the other side of the room.

“Lay.. I’m-”  
“I remember.” Lay quickly shut down Suho from saying anything else with his vague statement.  
“What?”  
“I remember..” Lay took a moment to catch his breath before he dared to speak again, “That night.. My accident.” Lay couldn’t see it but Suho’s jaw dropped like the bombshell he just dropped on him. 

He wasn’t lying. He vividly remembered what happened to him that night now. He remembered the way the mouth of the alleyway lit up and the deafening sound of the gun firing. He remembered the ringing in his ears. He could see that firm expression behind the pistol as he stared down the barrel of it. 

_Sorry, you got mixed up in this._

Lay could still remember that feeling of bile gathering in the back of his throat as he took a few steps backwards with his hands raised above his head. Then there was the sound of car horn and bright headlights as he stepped directly in front of oncoming traffic.

“Lay..” Suho’s voice actually sounded apologetic more than anything, but Lay didn’t respond. He slammed his eyes shut and tried to fall asleep so he could avoid any more conversation with Suho. 

“Lay, I’m so sorry. Please just let me-..” Lay managed to find a way to tune Suho out by focusing on the pain in his chest every time he took in a breath. It wasn’t long before he fell unconscious again with the aid of the drugs flowing through his system. Eventually Suho would understand that he fell asleep by the way his heart rate would level out.

\------

Five days passed before Lay was released from the hospital. Suho vanished after the first day Lay was conscious. Jongdae, Sehun, or Tao would always be there to entertain Lay and keep him company though, even during the night. Truth be told Lay needed them there. The doctors kept telling him the more he spoke and the more he got up and moved, the more he’d be exercising his lungs. If he didn’t do that he’d never get released from the hospital and it’d likely end with his good lung collapsing on him. So, the boys kept him talking when he was awake. And everyday Lay would go on a slow paced walk through the hospital to get his exercise. 

On the day of his release was also the day the chest tube got removed and Tao happened to be there that time. Lay didn’t know Tao could be so tender. He assumed the boy would’ve rather go stand outside the room while it happened, since it was a tube getting ripped out of Lay’s chest. It sounded a lot worse than what it was, sure, but it hurt as bad as it sounded. But, Tao stood next to the bed and held both of Lay’s hands, talking to him in a soft voice to distract him. He told him about how he apparently was considering booking a vacation for he and the other guys in the group since they all needed one according to him. Bora Bora seemed to be a location that Tao’s heart was set on. 

The doctor didn’t warn Lay before he promptly pulled the tube out of Lay’s chest. Lay cried out in pain as his hands tightly squeezed Tao’s. 

It was over in a flash. But, tears still pricked at Lay’s closed eyes. It hurt like hell. But, Tao let go of one of his hands and was running his now free hand through Lay’s sweaty hair as tenderly as he could. He shushed him like a parent would a child and told him how brave Lay was.

Long after the doctor left Tao and Lay remained like that. But, the stress of everything he’s gone through this month finally caught up to him. Tao was still there, calmly comforting him as Lay held onto one of his hands with both of his hands. He curled up on his side as Tao continued to calmly shush him and tell him he was strong, brave, and smart. 

Amidst all this stress Lay was suddenly dealing with all the trauma he went through the night of his accident and to top it off he was feeling the fresh sting of rejection since Suho has yet to show back up at the hospital. 

“Why doesn’t he want me..?” Lay found himself asking after about ten silent minutes on his side. Even if he knew that should be last thing he was asking about, all things considered, he still was stuck up on it.  
“ _Oh, Lay.._ ” Tao breathed softly in response as his fingers continued to run through his hair. “It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay.” Tao softly spoke in a sing song voice which managed to relax Lay’s tense shoulders. But, he never gave an answer because Tao would be one of the last people to know what the hell goes on in Suho’s head. 

\---

Lay eventually was officially discharged from the hospital and returned to the mansion with Tao. Everything hurt and he was still slow to move. All he wanted to do was go to sleep, but it seemed like Tao, Jongdae, Sehun, and even Kai and Baekhyun were all intent on having supper with Lay. Lay made them all agree that it’d be in his bedroom so he wouldn’t have to go far at least. 

He was so quiet the entire supper. He didn’t even eat much. He couldn’t. He noticed Kai kept looking at him and so he looked at his plate, nervously pushing some peas around. 

“Ya, Lay! We burned Dean’s place down.” Baekhyun decided to announce, drawing everyone’s attention, even Lay’s. “If you wanna go by it sometime we can. It’s rubble now. We’re slowly taking over everything Dean’s family ran.” Lay felt sick at the mention of Dean’s name. But, he nodded to at least let Baekhyun know he heard him.  
“Did anyone get hurt..?” Lay asked as he focused on Baekhyun’s face.  
“A few cuts and bruises. That’s all.” Kai answered and Lay looked back down at his almost full plate.  
“Thank you.” Lay’s voice was monotone, as if he didn’t mean it. But, he wasn’t ungrateful. He wanted that place to burn down and a big part of him wanted everyone inside the building to burn as well. But, he still knew that that loss of life was on him. 

“Of course!” Baekhyun smiled at the somber young man, not knowing Lay well enough to recognize he was upset. “No one messes with one of us and gets away with it.” Baekhyun decided to tack on, but Lay wasn’t sure it was right. He wasn’t one of them. No, not really. He was still an outsider. 

He was more of a burden, really.

“Guys.. I think we need to let Lay rest.” Jongdae caught onto Lay’s mood and everyone seemed to nod in agreement. They all said their goodnights and left the room. All except Jongdae. “Are you okay?” He asked Lay who finally looked up from his tray of food.  
“Yeah..” His voice cracked. “Yeah. I am.” He tried to assure Jongdae, but he didn’t look convinced. Either way, Jongdae nodded in response.  
“Okay.. But, I’m here if you need to talk or anything.. Or if you just want someone around. Don’t be afraid to text or call me.” Jongdae extended his presence to Lay while he was saying his goodbyes, and Lay was very much thankful. But, he wanted to be alone. 

After Jongdae left Lay whimpered in pain as he crawled into his bed. 

As soon as he got settled and curled on his side, facing away from the door, he got a knock on his door. 

“What is it?” His voice strained as he tried to speak loud enough to be heard. He assumed Jongdae or someone forgot something. _Probably Jongdae forgetting his phone_. He figured.

There was no answer. Only the sound of the door opening and then shutting. Lay didn’t want to roll over. It’d sting and he didn’t feel like dealing with the pain. So, he laid there with bated breath. 

His eyes instinctively shut as he felt a dip in the bed as someone sat themselves down at the foot of it, right next to his legs. Lay waited for some words to come from the person in his room.

A minute passed and there was nothing. 

Another minute passed.

Lay finally opened his eyes when he felt a hand begin to rest on one of his legs over the large duvet. 

He looked over at the figure in the darkness. Thanks to the moonlight flooding in from his windows he could see Suho’s silhouette. The man was simply sitting there with his hand on Lay’s leg. If it wasn’t for the way his chest softly rose and fell Lay could’ve mistaken him for a statue.

Lay desperately wished he would stop toying with his heart. 

“Suho..?” He finally spoke up and Suho looked down, but didn’t respond. 

About half a minute passed before Suho let out a heavy sigh. Lay was expecting him to start talking, but he did not. 

“Suho.” Lay’s voice grew a bit firmer in his irritation. But, he still did not receive an immediate answer.

Another long few moments dragged out before Suho finally said anything. “I wanted to apologize..” The voice spoke out into the darkness, looking back up to stare directly ahead of him.  
“For..?” Lay questioned, feeling like it wasn’t the best time.. But, he couldn’t find it in himself to send Suho away. Even after everything he’s done.

“The night you first went to Luhan’s bar. The night-”  
“The night you left me alone with no explanation?” Lay surprised himself and Suho by cutting him off. It was no surprise that Suho was slow to respond.  
“Yes. That night.”  
“I want an explanation more than an apology, Suho..” Lay just wanted to understand what was going on inside of that head of Suho’s. Then maybe he could truly forgive him.

Suho finally looked over at Lay and his grip momentarily tightened on Lay’s leg, sending chills rushing over the boy’s skin. “I.. I don’t want to hurt you. That’s why I left..”  
“Well.. You still did.” Lay was in no mood to deal with this. It felt like Suho was having more of a pity party than actually feeling bad about hurting his feelings.  
“I know, and I’m sorry. I just.. I don’t want you in this lifestyle of ours. You now know first hand how lethal in can be.”  
Lay groaned as he finally went to sit up in his bed, earning a concerned look from Suho. But Suho still managed to leave a hand on his leg the entire time.

“I’m stuck here, Suho.” Lay was quick to remind him once he was comfortable.  
“You can tell Kris what you remember and he will let you leave.”

Lay’s eyes grew wide and he sharply inhaled as he looked at Suho. He felt like he couldn’t breathe again. “What.. What would happen to you?” Lay asked Suho and Suho shook his head.  
“What happens to me wouldn’t matter. I’m not the one to worry about.. It’s-”  
“Suho, for an advisor.. I swear you don’t think.” Lay interrupted him again, full well knowing he may say something he regretted. Suho was clearly caught off guard again, but Lay kept going.

“What am I going to go back to? I have like three dollars to my name. Or.. Well.. I have a bit more than that since Tao gave me the money in Dean’s wallet.. But. I don’t have anywhere to go! I lost my apartment! I still am in debt and-”  
“Actually.. Kyungsoo cleared the debt for you.”  
“I still don’t have a place to go, Suho!” Lay snapped before he was forced to take a deep breath that stung a little too much. 

Suho didn’t say a word.

“So, please.. If you’re going to say that you’re worried about hurting me.. Stop keeping me at arm’s length. Either let me in or build the Great Wall of China between us.” Lay’s demand came out more as a sob, which was not what he intended.

Now he felt weak and pathetic again. Just like he did when Tao was trying to comfort him earlier today at the hospital. 

At least Tao provided more comfort than Suho did.

Lay felt the heat of tears threaten him. But, he was desperate to hold them back. Yet, a tear still ended up escaping him and so the back of his hand quickly went up to wipe the tear, in an effort to hide it. But, that only clued Suho in on the fact that a tear fell from Lay’s eye.

“ _Lay.._ ” Suho’s voice was so soft again. But, Suho stood up and let go of Lay’s leg, leaving Lay to feel the ghost of his touch over the blankets. His heart sunk into his stomach and the tears began to freely fall. Suho was going to leave and build that damn wall between them.

It was Suho’s turn to surprise Lay. 

Suho moved to sit next to Lay in the bed so he could lean against the headboard. Then he very gently pulled Lay against his chest and wrapped his arms around him as Lay began to outright sob into his chest. He began to softly sush Lay, much how Tao did earlier. Lay did not realize this wasn’t the first time Suho held him against his chest. The last time he was unconscious and bleeding all over him. 

One of Lay’s hands was desperately clinging onto Suho’s shirt and another was wrapped around his back as much as he could and clung onto his shirt from the back as well. It was as if he thought he could keep Suho here if he held on tight enough. The problem with his crying was that he wasn’t being easy on his lungs. Breaths got harder to come by and his left lung was screaming at him in protest. 

“Lay.. Relax. I’m here. Listen to my heart, okay?” Suho could clearly hear the gasping sounds Lay was making so he was making an effort to soothe him. Lay did as he was told and moved so his head could rest over Suho’s heart. 

He was surprised by what he found.

It was not a steady heartbeat like what he expected. His heart rate was accelerated a slight bit. He was nervous. 

Lay couldn’t help but to wonder if it was because of him. He actually wished it was. He hoped that he could make Suho’s heart race like Suho made his own race. 

Suho was right, though. It did soothe Lay. Slowly his breathing leveled out and returned to normal. He still clung onto Suho, however. 

All it took was fifteen minutes of silence for Lay to fall asleep in Suho’s arms. 

\-----------

After leaving Lay’s room Tao parted with the rest of the group with the excuse of wanting to turn in early. But, it was a long walk to his destination from Lay’s room. His destination was on the other side of the mansion and on the second floor. But, he made it with no complaints. Besides, it wasn’t fun to complain if no one was there to hear him.

Finally, after reaching a door he entered without knocking, stepping into the bedroom to shut the door behind him. His eyes immediately found Kris sitting at a table counting several stacks of money. “Give me just a moment.” He muttered, intent on finishing the task at hand. But, Tao nodded, he knew the drill. Work always came first. So, he walked over to look out the doors to the balcony that was attached to Kris’s room for a few moments before looking through his phone.  
“Kris, we need to go out and eat sometime. It’s been a while.”  
“You know how it is, baby. Just name the place and when you want to go.” Kris responded in that smooth voice of his without missing a beat, causing Tao to grin as he continued to swipe through his phone. 

Kris would always reserve the entire restaurant for the two when they went out so it’d only be them and no one else. Once Tao decided to get cheeky and say he wanted to go eat at some fast food joint. Kris managed to somehow clear the place for the two. That’s when Tao knew he won the lottery when it came to sugar daddies.

An interesting email stole all of Tao’s attention. Apparently there was a new job he could take up. A quick get in, grab some diamonds and get out kind of job it looks like. It’s been awhile since he’s done his own freelance work. Odds were he was going to end up taking the job.

Suddenly a large hand pressed against his entire right rib cage as another wrapped around his waist to pull him closer to the presence that was now behind him. Tao let out a pleased hum when he felt Kris’s lips brush across the back of his neck. “What are you looking at?” Kris’s husky voice asked him since Tao still hasn’t put his phone away.  
“A job offer.”  
“Tao.. I hate it when you go to work. You know I worry.”  
“I haven’t been caught yet.” Tao mused with a bright smile.  
“I seem to remember a time that you were caught twice.” Kris promptly reminded Tao with a short lived chuckle.

The way Kris and Tao met was far from ordinary. Tao literally ran into him on the streets, snatching his wallet in the process. Then after a few flirty winks and a cute apology Tao left and continued on his way. Kris did the same, but he saw someone who was homeless on the side of the street and was going to give them money soon after. So, he reached for his wallet only to find it missing. He turned and bolted after Tao who turned into an alleyway.

Tao could still remember the way the bricks dug into his back when Kris slammed him into the wall of a building in the alleyway. But, yet.. Kris surprised Tao by offering him a job instead of beating him. So, he took it. That was more money in his pocket and he got to be around a handsome man. It took a while for them to get past anything more than flirtations, winks, knowing smiles, brief touches and… Tao still stealing money out of his wallet whenever he got the chance. Kris knew he was doing it though. Apparently he knew for a while before he finally caught Tao redhanded.

“What was it that you said the second time you caught me?” Tao asked while he leaned back into Kris’s chest.  
“If you’re going to be taking my money, give me the pleasure of spending it on you.” Kris repeated and Tao got a bright grin on his face as a giggle left him.  
“Sweep me off my feet already!” Tao dramatically exclaimed with a loud laugh as he sat his phone on a cabinet next to the door he was standing in front of. But to be fair, it was the most romantic thing Tao has ever heard in his life. 

“I didn't realize how boujee you were though.” Kris laughed against the back of Tao’s neck, sending a subtle shudder down Tao’s spine.  
“Are you complaining?” Tao snapped as he turned around in Kris’s arms to face him.  
“Nah. I'm not even mad.” He responded with a smirk as he helped Tao out of his black fur coat. “I know what I signed up for.” Kris added after the coat hit the ground.  
“And that is?” Tao was pretty plainly digging for flattery as he tugged at the white tank top Kris was wearing to keep them close to each other.  
“You. Whatever it takes to keep you with me, I’ll do it.” Kris breathed as he met Tao’s gaze and Tao knew he meant it. Kris would burn entire blocks to the ground if Tao wanted it, no doubt. 

Tao smirked as his hands went to interlock behind Kris’s head, one briefly brushing one of the two cross tattoos on his neck, and his arms rested on Kris’s shoulders and Kris’s hands rested firmly on his hips. “Hmm. Seems like I caught myself the best damn sugar daddy.” Tao giggled, not afraid to be real about their relationship. Sure, there was definitely more between them than money. But, that money was how their relationship started. 

Kris let out a short laugh before he stole a kiss from Tao. One of Tao’s hands tangled itself in Kris’s hair as one hand ran down Kris’s chest. It was always strange to Tao that he was the one with more muscle definition between them even if Kris was the larger one. But, yet Kris always felt like the stronger one between them. Maybe it was because his touch was more heavy handed while Tao’s was a deft touch. That was likely the difference between someone who has fought tooth and nail for where they were at and someone who simply steals wealth and hides in the shadows. 

It wasn’t long before Kris was breaking the kiss to pull Tao’s black shirt off and over his head. There were several hickies on Tao’s torso from previous nights spent with Kris. He would definitely gain a few more tonight. Kris was quite territorial after all. Not that Tao minded. He often left a few on Kris as well. But, they were always under clothes. Kris had an image to uphold.

“Well?” Tao asked with a raised brow as he met Kris’s gaze once more. Kris responded simply by picking Tao up, which Tao promptly wrapped his legs around Kris’s waist. Tao tilted his head back and let out an almost giddy laugh, before Kris silenced his laugh with a kiss to his neck. 

He loved the way Kris treated him like the royalty he always thought he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yifan's song July gave me all the Taoris feels for this chapter, I swear~


	6. Accusations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Yeah, don’t smile like that._   
>  _When I see you, feels like you’re reading my mind. I get chills._   
>  _I try pushing you away with cold words, but my heart keeps wanting you._   
>  _You keep digging into me as if I’m already addicted._   
>  _Like a maze, there’s no exit._   
>  _I try running the opposite way. But, in the end I go to you._

Slowly and gently Lay woke up under the warmth of his covers. His legs stretched out, causing a few bones to pop. He groaned as he registered the dull pain in his side. But, the groan soon turned into a happy sigh when he realized he was still surrounded by Suho’s scent. Really his scent was mostly a subtle woody fragrance that was due to the cologne he always wore, but there was always a hint of herbs or vanilla to the scent, he likely spent time in the kitchen here. 

His hand reached out for Suho, wanting to pull him closer to him, wanting to be warmer…

Lay’s eyes opened when he only found an otherwise empty bed. He blinked a few times before he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked to indeed find that he was alone in the bed. That now familiar heartache was back.

With a wince he moved to sit at the edge of the bed. He licked his dry lips before he reached out to grab his phone off of the nightstand. He checked it with the hope that Suho at least left him a text message.

_Suho:_  
_I’m sorry I left early. I have business to take care of and did not want to wake you._

Well.. At least he explained himself.

The text helped Lay to not feel so rejected, but he would’ve much rathered Suho actually wake him up to tell him. Either way, he did not respond to the text message and he got up to get ready for his day. 

After a long, slow, and painful shower Lay finally left his room. His muscles were so sore from being so tense the past week. The stress was starting to take its first physical toll on his body. So, he didn’t bother on dressing “well”. He simply threw on a pair of black sweat pants and a white shirt that was a size too big to him (it was on sale). He only combed through his hair, not bothering to blow dry it. His mind really only was focused on one thing; finding Suho.

He wanted to find Suho and ask if he wanted to eat with Lay, if he hadn’t already. Sure, he could probably call Suho and make everything a world easier. But, Lay was intent on seeing Suho, so even if he did turn him down he’d still get to be around him. _Aish.._ He was in deep already. 

Lay was going through the rooms that he knew wasn’t offices and bedrooms, hoping to find Suho in one. Eventually he came across a library and was amazed since he did not know there was one in this mansion. It was modest, but it was still a library! The walls were lined with large bookcases and there was a small reading area next to a window that sunlight was flooding into. 

Kai was in the room, looking through the books. But, he turned when he heard the door open. “Morning, Lay.” He greeted him before looking back at the books.

Lay took in a deep breath as he stepped inside the library, shutting the door behind him. He went to go stand next to another bookshelf, but his back was to the bookshelf as he watched Kai.

“Kai..?”  
“Hmm?” The man stopped looking at the bookshelf to turn to Lay again, an eyebrow raised.  
“We’re friends, right?” Lay was nervous and it was clear in the way his voice was shaking a little. Kai’s eyebrows furrowed since he was unsure where the question was coming from, but he took a few steps towards Lay.  
“I would like to say so, yes. Why are you asking?” Kai was giving Lay quite the side eye as he slowly approached him.  
“You’d keep me safe, then?” Lay did not answer Kai, only asked another question.  
“Lay, can you explain what this about?”  
“Would you keep me safe?”  
“Yes.”

By now Kai was only a few feet from Lay and Lay found himself leaning against the bookshelf, completely unnerved by the man. But… There was a question that’s been nagging him since he got shot.

“ _Why’d you do it?_ ”

“What?” Kai asked as if he didn’t understand, but his entire demeanor changed. He was that man he was first introduced to when he met Kyungsoo. His eyes darkened and narrowed while his lips pursed together. He also seemed to stand a little bit straighter, probably trying to use his height to intimidate Lay. It was working.

“You know what I mean..”

Kai took two steps closer. He was now completely in Lay’s space and Lay was already flinching back and pressing himself against the bookshelf.

“I don’t think I do, Lay. Why don’t you use your words and explain yourself to me?” When he spoke Lay found himself turning his head to the side, completely unable to face him and quaking due to the low tone Kai took while addressing him. 

But, Lay took in a deep breath and forced himself to look up at Kai, meeting those eyes that seemed to fit a predator more than a man. “The night you shot someone and then turned the gun on me. The night I got hit by a car before you could pull the trigger.” Lay’s voice managed to be firm, even if everything about his body language was insisting he was intimidated of Kai. But, maybe being around a mafia allowed some courage to rub off on him. 

Kai seemed to be trying to figure out what to do, so Lay took the opportunity to continue on. “You thought I was going to die. The car didn’t stop after all. If it wasn’t for-”

Before Lay could continue Kai grabbed him by his shoulders and slammed him into the bookshelf, threatening to cause a few books to rain down on them. The air was knocked from Lay’s lungs, but the second he got it back he cried out in pain. He still hurt so much, so it felt like he was punched right where he was still recovering from the bullet wound. 

Lay opened his eyes to find Kai glowering at him, but that wasn’t the most startling part. He felt cool metal at his neck and immediately he leaned his head back, but the blade followed after him. He didn’t even realize Kai drew a blade while he was speaking.

“You know what? I should’ve waited for you to die. I should’ve put that bullet in your head..” Kai growled as his anger flared.  
“But, why?” Lay still asked, despite himself. 

“ _Why?_ ” Kai hissed as his eyes narrowed, but Lay seemed to be intent on knowing why. So, he rolled his eyes before sighing. For a moment Lay could see the Kai he’s come to know over his stay here. The friendly one. Not the assassin one. There was pain in his eyes, but an underlying desperation that didn’t bode well for Lay. “They were going to kill Kyungsoo, Lay. Sehun learned that little secret.. He didn’t go to Luhan. He came straight to me. Dean’s family wanted to kill Kyungsoo to cause us to crumble.” 

Lay’s eyebrows furrowed as sympathy immediately overtook him, even if there was still the edge of a blade against his throat. “Kai..”  
“I won’t lose him. I don’t care who I have to kill to keep him.” Kai’s edge returned and the assassin remerged as those predatory eyes bore into Lay once again and the blade began to press against his neck a bit harder. It was as if Kai reminded himself that Lay was someone who could make him lose Kyungsoo. “Xiumin told me you forgot. I thought you’d be harmless then. I should’ve ended you the night you showed up at our doorstep.” 

The door opened.

“ _Kai._ ”

Lay let out a breath of a relief as he heard Suho’s firm voice seem to give Kai a warning. But, Kai did not back off.

The door shut and Lay could hear Suho walk further into the room. But, he didn't dare take his eyes off of Kai in front of him. “Let him go, Kai.” Suho commanded of him, but Kai still didn’t let Lay go.

“Suho, you don’t know what’s going on here.” Kai growled as Lay felt the blade begin to nip into his skin.  
“I think I have an idea..” Suho still was so calm as he stopped approaching them.  
“They were after Kyungsoo, Suho. That’s why he did it.” Lay blurted out and then immediately sharply inhale when he actually felt the blade start to make a shallow cut in his skin. 

“I know, Lay.”  
“What do you mean you know?!” Kai snapped as he finally looked over at Suho.  
“I found out after the fact.” Suho clarified as Lay tried to focus on breathing. “What are your plans here, Kai? Are you going to kill him?”  
“I’m thinking about it.”  
“You’ll have to kill me too, Kai. Then what? Kris will definitely catch onto you then.” At Suho’s words one of Kai’s eyebrows raised.  
“Are you sure about that?”  
“Oh, I’m sure if I call him and he hears the whole thing.” Suho said as he pulled his phone out of his pocket before unlocking it, trying to make the threat clear.

With a loud groan Kai let go of Lay and took a few steps back. “Come here, Lay.” Suho said and Lay was quick to do exactly that as he scurried over to him, standing a little behind him so that he’d be between he and Kai. Suho focused completely on Lay and looked over to his neck where a small cut was at. “Are you okay?” Suho rather tenderly asked as he placed a hand on Lay’s shoulder. Lay nodded as one of his own hands reached up to rub at the cut on his neck.

“Suho.. You have to understand why I did what I did.” When Lay looked over to Kai as he spoke, he noted the way he looked more like the friendly Kai now. But, he was slightly surprised looking as he looked between Suho and Lay. Lay glanced at the ground, figuring he was taking note of how Suho was treating him.  
“I do. I don’t blame you. I would’ve done the same if I found out.”  
“Are you going to..?”  
“It stays between us.” 

Kai’s expression fell and gave way to relief as he let out a heavy breath. But, Suho still looked so serious as he regarded Kai. “But, if you touch Lay again like you did today.. I will take it up to Kris, if I don't take care of you myself.” 

Kai nodded his understanding. “When did Lay tell you?” Kai asked as he finally put the knife away.  
“He told me he remembered when he woke up in the hospital after Dean took him. But.. I knew before that, Kai. I was there.” Suho explained making Kai’s eyes widen, a sight Lay never thought he’d see. Lay found himself moving closer to Suho in response, only about a foot away from him.

Suho glanced at Lay when he realized he did get closer, but soon his attention was back on Kai. “You were acting off. So, I followed you one night. That’s when I thought you went off the rails. After you left when Lay got hit, I was the one that called the ambulance and was the good samaritan that went with him to the hospital and visited him often, mostly trying to see if he would remember and be a problem. But, late that night I.. Stumbled into Dean. Which, he enlightened me on why you went rogue.” Suho finished explaining himself, surprising Lay with how honest he was with Kai.

Kai nodded and there were a long few moments of silence between the three before the silence was interrupted. There were the faint sounds of shouting coming outside the room. Immediately Lay found himself moving to stand around the other side of Suho so that he was between himself and the door. The only word that Lay could make out on occasion was “clear”. His eyes went to Kai behind him and he was back to that assassin look. 

“ _Shit._ ” Suho swore under his breath and Kai stepped up closer to Suho.  
“What do we do?” He asked Suho and Suho just shook his head.  
“There’s nothing we can do if they’ve managed to get in. Just ride it out. Don’t make any moves.” Suho explained and Kai nodded and the two men stood there, waiting.

“What’s going on..?” Lay asked as the yelling got louder.  
“Lay, I need you to-”

The door to the library was thrown open and immediately men with guns filled into the room, screaming at them to get on the ground. It was a SWAT team, and Suho and Kai began to do as they were told so Lay slowly began to get on his knees and put his hands behind his head like he was told, but it was going to be hard for him to get to the floor as quickly as the officers seemed to want him to. 

“He just got out of surgery!” Lay flinched more at Suho’s loud voice than all the other yelling, but the officers didn’t listen to him. They quickly forced Lay onto the ground, causing him to cry out in pain. “Be easy with him!” Lay could feel them moving his arms down to the small of his back to handcuff him and they were far from gentle. Through the pain he forced himself to open his eyes and beyond a few pairs of legs he saw Suho being handcuffed as well, but his attention was solely on Lay. _It’s okay_ , Suho mouthed to him, but Lay was doubting him. He thought everyone here was untouchable. 

Apparently not. 

\-----------

Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and Jongdae were all in Chanyeol’s office, going over some plans for the next push to claim more properties that belonged to Dean’s family. But, it was getting off topic very quickly. Namely because Jongdae and Baekhyun ended up giving each other hell about who was loudest on a raid. 

“Baekhyun, you’re the the guy that just doesn’t stop screaming even after a threat is gone.” Jongdae said with a grin. Baekhyun rolled his eyes and looked over at Chanyeol for some support, but the man actually wore a grin just as bright as Jongdae’s.  
“You too!?” He exclaimed with wide eyes, earning him a laugh from Chanyeol. “That’s it. I quit.” Baekhyun declared as he stood up, crumbling up a sticky note to throw it at Chanyeol. This only made Chanyeol and Jongdae start to both collectively laugh.

That’s when they heard the yelling. Immediately Chanyeol’s demeanor changed as he stood up from his desk chair. Jongdae remained seated and wore a neutral expression and Baekhyun looked surprised more than anything. Very quickly the doors were flying open and guns were in their face. Baekhyun was the first to get thrown to the ground. Jongdae glanced over to see Chanyeol reaching for the gun under the desk and he shook his head at him. He was lucky Chanyeol saw him, because Chanyeol seemed to regain his composure and went to his knees like he was being ordered. Jongdae was doing the same before a rough hand forced him down and handcuffs tightened around his wrists.

\--------

Luhan’s room was pitch black despite it being midday thanks to the blackout curtains that were covering the windows. The young men were both obviously asleep in the bed. Sehun was laying on his back with Luhan’s head on his chest and one of Luhan’s arms wrapped under the back of his neck and the other resting on one of Sehun’s broad shoulders. One of Sehun’s bare legs stuck out from the silk sheets while one of Luhan’s legs was between Sehun’s. One of Sehun’s arms was gently wrapped around Luhan’s back and his other was carelessly laid out to the side of him. It looked as if the two were completely at peace while they were tangled up in each other.. 

The two often slept in this late in considering how late they worked. 

The only time they woke up was when the door to Luhan’s room was opened. Both of them lazily groaned, assuming it was one of their own lacking the decency to knock. _Probably Baekhyun or Tao.._

“What?!” Luhan groggily demanded before he opened his eyes. He only opened his eyes when he heard Sehun gasp and felt him jump underneath him. That’s when he looked up to see the guns pointed at them. Then the orders followed. Luhan rubbed his eyes as he sat up, then went to hold his hands up. “Can we at least put pants on?” He asked over the yelling for them to put their hands up.

\-------

Kris and Tao were finally getting ready to leave his bedroom for the day, despite Tao’s attempts to keep them in bed for even longer. “You know I have to go to work, baby..” Kris softly told Tao against his skin before placing a tender kiss against his shoulder.  
“You can’t entertain me a little bit longer?” Tao asked him with quite the pouty look that almost made Kris give in. Tao typically didn’t try and keep Kris in bed this long, but apparently he was in a mood today. 

When they were both about to step out the door Kris suddenly latched onto Tao’s arm and pulled him away from the door. It was a firm grip that surprised Tao, but a smirk appeared as he turned to look at Kris. He was about to say something coy, but when he saw the expression on Kris’s face he froze and looked out the window at where he was looking. They did not have their lights or sirens on, but there were SWAT vehicles outside the building. That’s when Tao’s expression fell. 

“You need to go.” Kris let go of Tao’s arm and walked to the balcony that looked away from the SWAT vehicles.  
“Kris, I-”  
“ _Tao._ ”  
Tao stopped trying to talk and he actually listened to Kris since he just used his business voice on him.  
“Please, go. If I see someone lay their hands on you. I will kill someone. That will end very badly for the both of us. So, please. Go. Go to your apartment. Got it?” Kris gave Tao instructions as he gently led him to the balcony. Tao swallowed hard, trying to take in what he was being told. “Do you hear me?”  
“Yeah.. Okay.” He didn’t have time to think of anything besides doing what Kris told him. So, after Kris gave him quite the passionate kiss Tao climbed over the railing of the balcony and climbed his way down to the ground before sprinting off and out of the property before the police could surround it.

There was enough time for Kris to at least shut the balcony doors and wait for the SWAT team to come into his room. When they opened the door he silently got to his knees with his hands behind his head, as if he has done this one too many times.

\----------

Xiumin and Kyungsoo were out of the mansion. They went to a bank to put some not quite legal things in a few of their safety deposit boxes. When they were opening the doors to the car was when they heard the sirens. Immediately Xiumin leaned into the car and passed Kyungsoo his pistol. Kyungsoo took it and placed both their weapons in the glove box before locking it and putting the keys to it in the briefcase he was carrying. 

When Kyungsoo finished this they were quickly surrounded by officers with guns screaming at them to get on the ground. Xiumin with his ever serious expression got to his knees and then laid on the ground with his hands on the back of his head. 

Kyungsoo’s lips actually twitched into a smirk as he did the same as Xiumin. He was amused more than nervous or offended. It looks like the FBI finally made their move on them, because it sure as hell wasn’t the cops that Kris paid off. But, he wondered what the charges were going to be and what kind of evidence they had on them. 

\----------

Everyone was separated into interrogation rooms within the local police station. Most of the cops there looked rattled at the sight of Kris and his family getting dragged in one after another. But, those working for the FBI looked cocky at this point. 

Kris was the first one they focused on. The man was uncuffed now, sitting in a chair with his feet up on the table in the interrogation room. He was drumming his fingers on the table as his impatience grew. But, that stopped the moment a man and a woman entered the room. The woman went to her seat across from Kris, but the man walked behind him and pushed his feet off the table. “Don’t you have any respect?” He asked Kris, which made him scoff.

Once the man sat down Kris casually put his feet back on the table and leaned back in the chair with his arms crossed across his chest. “Kris Wu.. We have a witness that-” The woman started but Kris was quick to cut her off.  
“Lawyer.”  
“What? You can’t be-” The woman’s male counterpart stood up as if he was trying to intimidate Kris, but he didn’t flinch.  
“I said.. _Lawyer._ I figured you to be dumb, but I didn’t think you were deaf.” Kris said with a bored expression as he looked up at the man.

“Okay..” The woman said before dragging the man out of the room with her.

About thirty minutes after the lawyer arrived the man and woman re-entered the room to interrogate Kris once again. 

“We have a witness placing known associates of yours at the scenes of several crimes.” The woman informed them.  
“I have a feeling that is all you have, hearsay from an unreliable source. Otherwise you would’ve arrested my client already.”

“Your client here stabbed several people in the back when he was someone just working the streets. I think it’d be possible to find a few more witnesses.” Kris rolled his eyes and shook his head at the threat coming from the man.  
“Come on, B. You’re going to have to do better than that.” Kris responded with a smirk.  
“How’s your mother doing, Kris? I wonder if she’s proud that her boy isn’t pushing dope on the streets anymore.” The moment the man brought up Kris’s mother his smirk disappeared and he was a single second away from losing his cool.

“Are you arresting my client?”  
“We still have-”  
“Are you arresting him?”  
“No.”  
“Alright then. Kris, we are leaving.”

Kris got up but gave the man a warning glare before leaving the room. 

\-----

Xiumin was next on their list. But, he and Kyungsoo asked for a lawyer the second they stepped into the station. So, Xiumin’s lawyer was already there when they entered the interrogation room. He wore that familiar serious expression on his face when he was brought into the room. 

“Xiumin, you are connected to a kingpin in this city and countless crimes, including mass murder.” The woman from before laid out the facts really.  
“Allegedly connected.” His lawyer clarified and Xiumin did as he should and did not say a word.  
“It’s a wonder to see you this high up the hierarchy and so well collected, Minseok.” Xiumin, once again did not say a word, only watched the man with those sharp eyes of his. “I wonder how it feels for you, all things considered. Does the power give you a rush? You did have a rough home life afterall.”

“I think you’re out of line. Is my client’s past in question now?”  
“Possibly. But even you have to admit he made quite the transformation. I hear you used to be so scared and quiet.. Well, the quiet seems to stay. But, you don’t look scared anymore. Wonder if that’s because you feel like you’re still in control.”

“Is an arrest being made?”

A sigh left the agents and they shook their heads. The lawyer stood and it was clear for Xiumin to follow suit. But, he sat there for a long moment, staring down the male agent across from him. His tongue dragged across the front of his teeth as his eyes bore into him. Then he slowly stood up and left the station.

\-----

The agents went to Kyungsoo next. Much like Xiumin, his lawyer was already there.

“I wonder if you can explain the income of the family you’re involved with. There’s a lot of blood money in your pockets, after all.”  
“I can assure you our income comes from all of our legitimate businesses. Our most popular ones are the bars, specifically the strip bar. I’m pretty certain we could all live off that one alone.” Kyungsoo responded with a smooth voice and a disarming, albeit slightly smug, smile.  
“Legitimate businesses?”  
“Yes. You can check our tax returns. Numbers do not lie, so they say.” Kyungsoo planned for something like this long ago. Law enforcement would never be able to get them when it came to money. That’s how Al Capone was caught, after all. Kyungsoo was not intent on following in his footsteps.

“You had such a promising life. You were born into a good family, went to the best schools, and then you get mixed up with Kris Wu. How’d that happen?” Kyungsoo only smiled at the question. He was not a fool. He wasn’t going to speak more than he should. Besides, that story was his own business. 

“Well, as much as I would like to stay.. I have business to attend to. So.. Unless you are planning on charging me with a crime. I will be leaving.” It was obvious that Kyungsoo’s lawyer was mostly there for show as he stood from the table. The agents sighed and gestured to the door.

\----

Chanyeol was the one that looked the angriest when the agents walked in. Luckily enough his lawyer was already there as well. It seemed like the family knew the drill. 

“Chanyeol, you have quite the gun collection!” The man said as he took his seat.  
“You’ll find that he has any required permits for them.” The lawyer quickly answered the question as Chanyeol glowered in his seat.  
“I don’t know.. I find it a bit concerning that a known problem child has this many weapons.” Chanyeol found himself biting on his lower lip in an attempt to keep from coming across the table.

“Not to mention.. He is connected to a lot of murders.”  
“Allegedly.” 

Chanyeol was getting fidgety. He did not like being cooped up like this. His fingers tapped on the table as he gave the man a look that could kill. 

“Are you nervous, Chanyeol?”

He remembered the way Baekhyun was thrown on the ground earlier and he swallowed hard. 

“You shouldn’t be nervous if you’ve done nothing wrong.”

Suddenly Chanyeol stood up out of his seat, sending the metal chair flying backwards as his hands slammed on the table, causing everyone to just about fall out of their chair as they jumped.

“Alright. I think we are done here. I assume you aren’t charging him with anything. Chanyeol. Let’s go.” The lawyer demanded as one of Chanyeol’s hands went under the table. He was so close to flipping it over in his anger. But, with a groan he left it as it was, quickly making way for the exit. 

\----

Luhan, meanwhile, was sitting without a lawyer, which made the agents sigh in relief. But, Luhan is a man that works with people who are constantly digging for information.

“So, you run a strip bar.”  
“Is that illegal?”  
“No, but.. What is your relationship to one of your dancers, Sehun?” Luhan smirked at the question. They did not have any evidence on him if they were digging into this.  
“He works for me, makes me the most money.”  
“Yes, but we hear your relationship with him is a bit more.. Explicit.”  
“Ah, I see. I suppose it is. But, can’t two grown men have fun together on the side?”  
“It depends on if one of the men is paying the other.”  
“Prostitution? That’s really what you’re going for here?” Luhan asked with a scoff.

“Listen. Sehun and I are what you’d call friends with benefits I suppose, nothing less and nothing more. It may be unethical since he is one of my employees. But, it's not illegal.” Luhan was always careful to hide how he truly felt about Sehun. The last thing he wanted was for Sehun to become a target because of him.

“Most people don’t keep their one night stands in their bed into the next morning.”  
“What, you don’t continue the fun?” Luhan asked with raised brows and a smile on his face. This left the agents at a loss for words. Luhan took that as his cue. “Am I being charged with a crime?” He asked with a grin, which only got larger when the agents groaned, knowing that Luhan was going to be walking out.

\---

When the agents went into the next room Jongdae was standing in front of the two way mirror, tapping on it as if he thought he was going to get a response.

“Would you mind taking a seat..?” The woman asked, almost unsure of how to talk to Jongdae. He turned around with a raised brow, but he politely smiled and walked over to the chair that the female agent was gesturing to. But, he didn’t take a seat, instead he put his hands on the back of the chair and leaned on it.  
“I’m so bored~” He complained to them, drawing a groan from the man but an amused sound from the woman.

“Alright, Jongdae. Rumor has it you’re popular with the younger crowd on the streets.”  
“The kids need someone who gives a damn about them.”  
“Or your family needs someone to be a recruiter?” Jongdae openly laughed at this.  
“I’m not recruiting for anything. I just make sure the kids that grow up on the street have someone to look out for them. That’s all. I mean. I think that should be part of the cops’ job, but whatever. Someone has to do it.”  
“That’s it?”  
“Alright, alright.. I’ll confess.”

The agents paused as their eyes grew wide. Would it really be that simple?

“I do teach them how to hustle people in pool and cards.” Jongdae admitted with a shrug and a grin. When he saw the annoyance on the agents’ faces he couldn’t help but to laugh. “I think they’d take every last dollar you two have. They’ve learned from the best after all.” Jongdae bragged, enjoying every second of teasing these two.  
“I suppose being someone who grew up on the streets you’d know what kind of trouble they can get into.”  
“All I do is make sure they don’t die, don’t touch drugs, and have full bellies. I guess I do humanitarian work for free. Shouldn’t you two be giving me some award or something?” Jongdae easily avoided the the suggestion that he got into trouble as a kid.

“Look, I’m really bored. Unless you would like to give me an award I would like to leave.” He said when he noted that the man’s expression grew more angry. 

\---

Like clockwork they went to the next room to find Baekhyun sitting on the table with his feet in the chair.  
“Do you mind?” The man asked with a groan.  
“No, I don’t.” Baekhyun responded without moving.

The agent groaned once again, growing incredibly tired of everyone they brought in, but he threw a file down on the table, opening it to reveal photos of several burning buildings. “Your handiwork.” He stated and Baekhyun raise an eyebrow as he picked up one of the photos.

“Is it?” He asked with a smirk and a tilt of his head as he looked at the photo, as if he was trying to remember it.  
“You’ve been connected to it.”  
“Have I now?”  
“Stop playing dumb.”  
“Oh, I’m sorry. I just don’t have any memory of getting charged for these crimes.” Baekhyun said with a grin. 

“What about the house you lived in when you were a child? What happened to that?”  
“House fire. I assume if you know about that you’ve done your research.”  
“What caused it?”  
“I don’t know. I was a kid. I think one of those space heaters caught a fleece blanket on fire or something.” Baekhyun knew exactly what happened. But, they didn’t need to know that. So, he spouted out what was filed in the official report. 

“Don’t play games with me.”  
“Wow. Sir. Listen. I have been nothing but helpful to you. I am really trying to cooperate. But, if you’re going to be aggressive I’m going to have to ask for my lawyer. Or… Maybe I could just ask to leave. I don’t suppose you are charging me for one of these fires that you claim I caused.” Baekhyun sounded extremely offended as one of his hands went to his chest.

The agents only have four more chances to get something to be able to press charges on them.

\----

When they walked in the room where Kai and his lawyer was sitting. Kai’s hands were interlocked in front of him on the table as he stared directly ahead at the two way mirror. He was eerily silent and did not even look up when the agents walked in. Odds were they weren’t getting anything from him. 

“Alright, Kai. Let’s just get into it. Shall we?” Kai looked up at these words and then nodded for the man to continue. A folder was opened, much like it they did with Baekhyun, but this time photos of murder victims were carefully laid out on the table. Kai glanced down at the table before looking back up at the agents with a raised eyebrow. “You’ve always been violent, even as a child. How many times did you get suspended from school for violence?” At this Kai smirked and looked down for a moment. 

“What was the excuse you always used?” The agent went on, feigning as if he was thinking before he went on. “Ah, you didn’t start the fights, right? You were just finishing them. You were looking out for the only person that bothered to be your friend at the time. The one that couldn’t stop picking fights.” Kai didn’t respond, but his lawyer did tell him to not say a word.

“But, Sehun is no longer in need of protection. He’s a grown man capable of handling himself.. Not to mention he has a boyfriend that we hear is very protective of him. So, who are you doing this for now?” The question did cause Kai to scoff, but he still did not say a word. 

“You can make all the accusations you want, but that’s all they’ll ever be if you don’t have any solid evidence.” Kai’s lawyer finally spoke up when he felt as if things were going too far. “Let me guess.. You have no evidence against my client? No? Then we are leaving.”

\---

Sehun was sitting in the chair with his head in his palm and his elbow on the table, looking as if he was struggling to stay awake. As if to make a point the male agent slammed the door behind him, causing Sehun to jump and groan before he leaned back in his chair.

“Did you get enough sleep last night?”  
“No. I have to say.. Being woken up with a gun getting shoved in my face is a first. Quite rude of you.”  
“You might’ve been a threat.” Sehun let out a slight laugh at this.  
“Yeah? I mean.. I was naked, so I suppose I was quite the threat.” Sehun drew a blush from both of the agents. Suddenly he leaned back over the table with quite the grin on his face. “Tell me.. Did you plan the raid this early in the day? Surely you are aware of the working schedule Lu and I have.. You surely knew we were both going to be asleep. Did you intentionally send in your little raid while we were asleep? What kind of evidence were you hoping to stumble across?” He asked as his voice dropped in tone, typically what he did when he was trying to tug some information out of someone. 

The agents both were taken aback by Sehun’s shift in attitude. But, then his grin returned and he leaned back in his seat. It seems like he was the one getting more information out of this than the agents were. “We did not consider..” Sehun laughed when the woman started to explain, cutting her off. 

“So, you admit you and Luhan have a relationship?”  
“Sure, I guess. I mean, really it’s less boyfriend and more friends with benefits.” Sehun knew the drill.  
“Friends with benefits?”  
“Ah, okay. You got me. It’s more like a sugar daddy kind of thing. I mean.. Do you know how much money he brings in?” Sehun went on seeming rather sincere in his statement. But, Sehun was never interested in Luhan’s money. He made enough on his own. Sehun wasn’t like Tao. 

“He’s.. He’s your boss.” Sehun could tell he was getting the agents to lose their nerve by his rather brash behavior. Good.  
“I know? Isn’t it exciting?” He asked earning a sigh from the man. “Tell me, do you two..?” He asked as he pointed between them and immediately the two became flustered.  
“We’re professionals.” The woman stated rather quickly and Sehun grinned even more.  
“So am I, honey.” 

“Listen, I’ve had _so much_ fun with you two. But, I would like to go catch up on my sleep. So.. Unless you’re charging me with a crime.. I think I’m free to leave.” He said as he stood up. But, he looked back at the woman and gave her a wink before leaving. 

\---

They already knew they wouldn’t get anything from Suho. So, after the woman stopped blushing they reluctantly went to the interrogation room he was being held in.

“Am I being charged?” He asked as soon as they stepped inside the room.  
“Are you serious?” The man groaned as Suho calmly looked over to them from the chair he was sitting in.  
“Am I being charged?” He repeated.  
“No..” The woman sighed and then Suho stood up and promptly walked out. He was not wasting his time here. Plus he needed to make sure to get a lawyer to Lay since it was doubtful Lay would have asked for one on his own.

\---

The agents finally got to Lay who was leaned over the table with his right hand over the left side of his midsection. He has yet to eat today and so he hasn’t taken any pain medication yet. The pain was beginning to get to him. 

“Lay is it?”  
“Mhm.” He groaned without moving as the agents sat across from him.  
“What’s the matter, kid?”  
“I’m in pain. I’m hungry and behind on pain medication.”  
“You’ve been in the hospital a lot lately. A bit ironic don’t you think?” Lay only groaned in response. “You were the top of your class in school, which is very impressive considering what happened to your parents.. Then you went to medical school. You finished a whole three years before dropping out. Why?”  
“I was an underdog story to those who gave me scholarships. But, eventually the money stopped coming in. There’s no way I could possibly afford it on my own.” Lay answered the question, still keeping his head on his arm as it rested on the table.

“An orphan really does make a good underdog story. So how does an orphaned drop out get mixed up with the likes of Kris Wu?”  
“Magic I guess.” Lay knew enough to not give the cops anything they could work with. But, he still answered the agent.  
“As far as we can tell.. You’re the only one here who hasn’t done anything wrong in the eyes of the law. Why don’t you make it easier on yourself..? Help us out. You can be the one that brought down the infamous Wu family.”

Lay didn’t respond. 

“You have no loyalty to them.. You’d be a hero and save so many lives.”

Lay still remained silent. He at least knew he still had that right.

“Think about your parents, kid. What would they want you to do? They wouldn’t want to see their son get mixed up with the mob. The mafioso lifestyle isn’t for you. You’re one of the good ones.”

Damn, they were really laying it on thick.

“Look, man. I have nothing to tell you. I don’t know anything.” Lay said to try and get him to stop so he could just be done here.

“Not good enough, Lay. We already have one witness, but it’s not enough. We need your help.” The male agent spoke and there was a long silence before he slammed his hands on the table, making Lay jump up to a sitting position with a yelp in surprise. 

Suddenly the door was opening again. “I think we’re done here.” A woman’s voice spoke up as she entered the room.  
“And you are?” The female agent asked.  
“I am Lay’s lawyer. Now, unless you want to to discuss the excessive force you and your officers have displayed with Lay after he was only a week out of surgery, I suggest you leave him be and let us leave.” 

With that, Lay was excused from the building. 

When he wandered outside he found Suho outside the building, waiting on him. Quickly, Suho was approaching him with a look of concern. “Are you okay?” He asked in that softer tone he’s taken to using with Lay. It made Lay take in a breath of fresh air.  
“Yeah.. I’m just hungry and I hurt some.” Lay found himself being honest with Suho instead of shrugging it off. Suho nodded and gently rested a hand on Lay’s shoulder and led him to the car waiting for them. Lay still wasn’t used to the expensive vehicles. But, it was less jarring every time at least. 

“Let’s go home.”

\---------

Suho made sure Lay got a good meal and that he was able to take his pain medication. But, he did not stay into the evening. His excuse, as per usual, was work. This left Lay alone with his thoughts. 

He was rattled by the FBI trying to bring down the family. They said they had a witness.. Who could it be..?

Lay was staring at his phone as he ran his hands through his hair, wet after a recent shower. _Come on, Lay. Connect the dots._ He told himself as he thought things through, trying to do what felt like connecting invisible dots and squares. 

Then.. Then something came to mind.

Lay’s expression darkened for a moment as he unlocked his phone. He went to his contacts and his index finger hovered over Tao’s name. Then after thinking on it for another fifteen seconds he tapped on Tao’s name and put the phone to his ear.

“Lay?”  
“Hey, Tao.”  
“Are you okay?”  
“Yeah, yeah.. Hey, are you with Kris?”  
Tao laughed on the other side of the phone. “Are we that predictable?” He asked and Lay was able to even hear the grin that was likely on his face.  
“I mean.. Kind of?” Lay felt like they were already off track. But, he could hear Kris say something in the background and he desperately tried to stifle back a laugh. They really were that predictable.

“Well, he’s here.”  
“Can I talk to him?”  
“Sure.” There was some rustling on the phone before Kris spoke up.  
“What is it?” He sounded irritated, but Lay couldn’t blame him considering everything that happened today.

“Well, ah.. I wanted to finally tell you that um..” Lay suddenly felt nervous, Kris still scared the hell out of him and it was obvious.  
“Spit it out, kid.” Lay could hear Tao say something about going easy on him in the background, but it was kind of hard to make out.

“I remember. I remember the accident. I remember everything. And I think.. I think I know who the rat is.” Lay blurted it all out and he could hear Tao saying Kris’s name with concern in his voice.  
“Are you certain?”  
“Yes. I’m very much certain.”

There was some whining from Tao in the background, but it was all unintelligible to Lay. Then Kris sighed. “Okay, okay. Look, Lay. Get some rest. I’ll gather everyone in the morning. Alright?”

“Okay.”

\--------

After the FBI threw everyone on their heads there was so much to settle. Although, they did not have any concrete evidence, they all knew that from the lack of any arrests. They were trying to get people to crack. This was a dangerous time for the family. If anyone cracked, it could bring the empire they built down.

The entire situation did nothing but aggreviate Xiumin to no extent. 

He was sat in his bedroom in a reading chair, lost in his thoughts. He finally snapped out of his daze when the door opened. He did not move, but he looked up to find Jongdae wordlessly walking over to him. Jongdae went to stand behind the chair and his hands went to Xiumin’s shoulders. Slowly Jongdae began to massage the older man’s shoulders. 

“You’re so tense.” Jongdae finally spoke as Xiumin stared dead ahead.  
“And you’re not?”  
“Nah. I see no reason to be.”  
“Really?”  
“Come on, does that really surprise you?”  
“I guess not.” Xiumin sighed as one of his hands went up to rub his forehead. 

“Did they bring up your past? They brought up mine.” Jongdae’s tone was careful, but he still was blunt about it.  
“Yeah.. They did.” Xiumin was thankful Jongdae wasn’t going to ask about it even more, but he never needed to worry about that from Jongdae.

“ _Relax.._ ” Jongdae purred and Xiumin let his eyes fall shut as he focused on the way Jongdae worked out some of the knots in Xiumin’s muscles. 

Five silent minutes passed before Xiumin opened his eyes again, feeling like he didn’t carry the entire weight of the world on his shoulders now. “Jongdae.”  
“Hmm?”  
“Come here.” He could hear the sharp exhale from Jongdae before the young man’s hands left his shoulders. Xiumin was sat in the chair with his legs crossed, but when Jongdae stepped around the chair he still went to straddle Xiumin. His signature catlike grin was on his face as he looked down at Xiumin. He leaned in closer to Xiumin so they were sharing breaths.

“Am I close enough?” He asked and Xiumin resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Instead he closed the distance between their lips as his hands went to rest on Jongdae’s waist. Xiumin was surprised to find that Jongdae was trying to fight for control of the kiss. That’s not how they worked. Xiumin was always in control. Although, while Xiumin could intimidate others, Jongdae never was intimidated by him. So, maybe this was just another way for Jongdae to test him.

His hands tightened their grip on Jongdae’s waist as he growled before biting down on Jongdae’s lower lip, trying to remind him who was the dominant one here. Yet, Jongdae actually went and nipped at his lip in turn. 

Xiumin pulled his head back to break the kiss as he gave Jongdae a sharp look. The young man only grinned. “Have you forgotten exactly _who_ you belong to?” Xiumin asked, causing one of Jongdae’s eyebrows to quirk in response. It was like Jongdae was taunting him. 

One of Xiumin’s hands abandoned Jongdae’s waist and went to cup his chin. He pulled Jongdae in a little closer before lifting his head up to expose his neck to Xiumin. Xiumin leaned in to be able to suck a dark mark on the side of Jongdae’s Adam apple. The way he wasn’t letting up was guaranteeing it’d be a large hickey. One of Jongdae’s hands ran through Xiumin’s brown hair as his breathing began to be a bit more shallow. Xiumin was not the type to leave hickies. But, if he needed to remind Jongdae that he belonged to someone.. He would.

Another hand of Jongdae’s wondered to the gray suit vest Xiumin wore, unbuttoning it. Soon Xiumin’s hand that was previously on Jongdae’s chin was grabbing the hat off his head and tossing it across the room. 

Before Xiumin could let himself get carried away and pull Jongdae’s striped black and white longsleeved shirt off he pressed a gentle kiss on the dark mark on Jongdae’s neck. That’s how Xiumin was with Jongdae. He could be incredibly rough with him, not that Jongdae minded at all, but there was a side of Xiumin only Jongdae got to see. It was tender and caring. But, that side of Xiumin vanished almost immediately. He recaptured Jongdae’s lips and the younger man finally allowed him to dominate the kiss. So, Xiumin’s hands slowly made their way down to Jongdae’s backside. 

Jongdae managed to make Xiumin forget all about his stress as the evening dissolved into something far from business. Now the only thing Xiumin worried about was how much sleep he was going to lose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> XiuChen is otp afffffff.
> 
>  
> 
> Also, I likely won't be able to update for a week, or maybe a little more. I'm going on vacation this week with some friends and also going to go see Seventeen. So yeah! =]


	7. Resolutions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _You hovering over my head like blanche._   
>  _Your touch passes me, bewitching me._   
>  _Though I know it’s a bit dangerous, I can’t escape, you’re like caffeine._   
>  _Now I have to accept it; your eyes, body, words, voice, everything._   
>  _I can’t escape, when I snap out of it._   
>  _I find myself calling out to you._

Suho was surprised in the morning when Kris called asking everyone to gather in their meeting room. But, he did as he was asked. He was even more surprised to walk in and find Lay idling around with Sehun and Tao. He shot him a glance and Lay gave him that innocent look he always wore. Immediately Suho was looking away, lest Lay tugged on his heart so much it was obvious to everyone else. Although, he didn’t realize everyone already was suspicious of his feelings towards Lay. 

When Suho was walking past Jongdae to his seat he noticed the ugly purple mark on his neck. Well, he would’ve been blind if he didn’t notice it. Before he sat down he shot Xiumin a look with pursed lips. Xiumin glanced over under the weight of Suho’s gaze and Suho glanced back at Jongdae before looking back at Xiumin with a raised brow. A smirk graced Xiumin’s lips before he looked away. So, Suho took his seat.

He still didn’t have a clue as to what this was about, unless they were going over how the FBI got onto them. But, that wouldn’t require Lay. But, slowly everyone else poured into the room and once everyone was in the room Kris finally spoke up, immediately grabbing everyone's attention.

“Our dear little lamb called me last night,” Suho’s gaze shot up to Lay as his eyes narrowed. There was nothing for the two to privately talk about, nothing good anyways. “He told me he remembers the incident that landed him in our lap and he has an idea of who the rat is. So.. Lay, if you will enlighten us.” Kris gestured for the boy to start and Lay slowly moved to stand in front of the table so everyone could properly see him.

Suho’s nostrils flared as he looked at Lay, trying to withhold a glare. When Lay met his gaze once again he very subtly shook his head, trying to get Lay to back down. But, Suho even knew it was too late. Kris was very good at spotting a liar. If Lay tried to say he was wrong, Kris would easily catch on. 

Suho glanced down the table, as if he was reading everyone’s expressions. But, he really only cared about Kai’s. The man’s jaw was clenched and his knuckles were white. He was nervous, as he rightfully should be. If Lay said it was him, which it was, Kris would be quick to act. Suho glanced at Kyungsoo who was just to his right. If it came to that he’d have to hold Kyungsoo back.

Then Lay began to speak, making Suho nervously suck in some air. Surprisingly the boy did not look nervous. He looked sure and confident. 

He was going to tell the truth then. _Shit._

“It may not be what you want to hear.. It’s not exactly satisfactory. But, I saw the murder before I was hit by the car. The man behind the gun was Dean. He said something about not being able to trust the man he killed.” 

Suho’s jaw almost dropped. He just lied to Kris. But, he looked as if he was speaking the truth. His eyes glanced over to Kris. Kris did look disappointed, but also relieved. He believed him. Suho quickly glanced down at Kai and his eyes were wide, but otherwise he seems to have settled into a neutral expression.

_Holy shit._

Suho’s gaze returned to Lay, but Lay did not even glance his way. His gaze was focused on Kris.

“I think he was the witness the cops had. You destroyed his home and took over most of everything he owns. He has nowhere to go, except to them.”

Kris nodded in acceptance before he looked past Xiumin to look at Luhan. “I want you to find him. Make that your top priority.”  
“Yes sir.” Luhan responded and he stood up from his chair when Kris gestured for him to go. Sehun trailed out of the room behind him. 

“Kris, if I might be so bold..” Jongdae spoke up, stealing everyone’s attention. Kris raised an eyebrow, expecting him to continue. “I would like to go search for Dean as well. But.. If you wouldn’t mind.. I would like to be the one to put him down.” The request left Kris surprised, as it did most of everyone else.

“Why?” Kris reasonably asked.  
“Because he hurt one of my friends.” Jongdae’s answer was simple, but it was enough for Kris and he nodded in response. 

Kris dismissed everyone except Suho, much to his dismay. He wanted to ask Lay why he did what he did. Especially since he was so sure of himself.

\----

Lay was swift in retreating back to his room since his hands were starting to shake as he was losing his nerve. He just lied to the man that ran this entire city.

_Holy shit._

“Are you okay?” 

Lay turned in the hallway when he heard Jongdae’s voice. Concern was written on his face, but he likely noticed the way Lay’s face paled the moment he left the meeting room. “Oh, yeah. I’m fine. Just.. Nervous.” Lay couldn’t bring himself to wholly lie to his friend.  
“Don’t worry, Lay. We’ll make sure Dean can’t hurt you again.” Jongdae said as he approached Lay and placed his hand on his shoulder to reassure him. That wasn’t what Lay was nervous about, but he still nodded in response.

There was a bit of a silence between the two for a long moment and Lay glanced down at the mark on Jongdae’s neck before meeting his eyes again. “Is that a hickey?” He asked with a growing smile, but he was desperate to get off the topic of his anxiety. Jongdae laughed in response as he scratched the back of his head. “What? I didn’t know you were even involved with anyone. Or.. Well, I mean, are you involved with someone?” Lay went on after Jongdae’s somewhat sheepish reaction.

“Xiumin doesn’t like to flaunt our business. So, it’s no surprise you didn’t know. He’s a private guy.” Jongdae explained and Lay’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped.  
“Xiumin?!” He couldn’t help his outburst. But, he would’ve never expected Jongdae and Xiumin to be involved with each other. The two seemed like polar opposites after all. 

“ _Yes?_ ” 

Lay stiffened when he heard Xiumin’s voice come around the corner. Jongdae could only grin at Lay’s reaction before he turned to see Xiumin. Lay was still trying to get his jaw to close as Xiumin approached the pair. “I, um..” He couldn’t find any excuse for his outburst and Xiumin quirked an eyebrow when he stopped a few feet in front of the two.

“He asked about the hickey.” Jongdae finally explained the situation and Lay covered his face with one of his hands, wanting to die in this moment. Death might be preferable to embarrassment right now, or Xiumin’s potential wrath considering Jongdae did just say he was a private man.

“Ah. I see.” Xiumin responded, but Lay did not see the way a smirk briefly graced his lips. “Jongdae, can I borrow you for a moment?” Xiumin went on as if nothing happened and Lay finally removed his hand from his face to see Jongdae nod in response.  
“Sure thing. I’ll see you later, Lay.” With that and an awkward wave from Lay, Jongdae and Xiumin left Lay’s company.

Immediately Lay was back to was rushing off to his room. Once he was there he quickly went into his closet to grab a large black sweater, hoping that maybe it’d help with the chills that seem to have taken up permanent residence on his arms. The moment he pulled it over his head he went to step out of his closet.

“Lay?”

Lay gasped as he felt his heart stop and his legs just about failed him when he found Kai in his bedroom. A smirk appeared when Kai caught how he affected Lay. “Sorry, I did not mean to scare you.” He tried to reassure Lay, but it didn’t help much at the moment considering Lay’s hand was over his racing heart as he tried to focus on his breathing. 

After a few moments he finally seemed to relax some, but he was still on edge considering the last time he interacted with Kai alone. “I’m okay.” He said, hoping that Kai would start speaking soon. Luckily enough, he didn’t have to wait long.

“I wanted to thank you for what you did back there. I’m surprised you managed to get away with it to be honest..” Kai started and Lay’s shoulders stopped being as tense. He swallowed and nodded as he tried to find the words to be able to respond to this man.

“I understand why you did it.” That was the reason he offered up for lying to Kris and it was Kai’s turn to nod. But, he did take a few steps closer to be only a couple of feet away from Lay.  
“I really owe you.” Kai told him before holding his hand out to Lay. “Are we good?”  
“We’re good.” Lay said with a bright smile as he shook Kai’s hand, hopeful that he wouldn’t have to be afraid of Kai anymore. He wanted to be friends with Kai since he was friends with the others in the little group.

Slowly a smile appeared on Kai’s face and Lay considered himself successful for the moment, but he knew it’d take him a while to not be completely afraid of Kai anymore. Kai let go of Lay’s hand and stepped back a few feet, looking as if he was about to find an excuse to leave. But, Lay’s door received a gentle knock. 

“Come in!” Lay called out and the door opened. 

“Lay, I have an idea..” Kyungsoo started as he walked in, but he seemed surprised to find Kai in Lay’s room. When Lay looked over at Kai he seemed to have a bit of a brighter smile on his face.

Whatever the case was, Kyungsoo continued. 

“Dean has gone into hiding, probably with the aid of law enforcement. So.. We’ll need to draw him out.” As Kyungsoo spoke he approached the two and Kai nodded in agreement.  
“Okay.. How?” Lay asked, perhaps a little too innocently, causing the other two men to look at him in concern.

“He’s interested in you, Lay.” Kai was the one to speak up and Lay’s eyes widened for a moment before he could take a deep breath. Once he was in control of his facial expression once again he nodded.  
“Alright.. Go on.”

Kyungsoo glanced at Kai before he continued. “Well, you need to leave, Lay. I can set you up with an apartment today. You'll live on your own as you did before. You can text us still. But no phone calls or face to face meetings. It’d spook Dean and he needs to believe we cut all ties from you. When he shows his face, which he will, you will call or send Chanyeol a text, even if it’s blank, and we will swiftly move in and take care of everything.”

It was hard to miss the fact that Lay’s face was dropping with every sentence Kyungsoo said. 

“It’s not a bad idea, Lay..” Kai spoke softly and when Lay looked over he saw the friendly Kai he’s grown to like here. So, he swallowed hard as he tried to objectively look at this. Kai wasn’t lying when he said it wasn’t a bad idea and Lay wasn’t lying when he told Kris he thought Dean was the rat to the law enforcement. 

Lay mulled it over for two full silent minutes before he reluctantly nodded, hoping that he was making the decision that would save Kris’s family. 

“Are you sure? We will be moving you immediately if so.” Kyungsoo asked and once again Lay nodded.  
“Yeah.. I’m sure.”  
“Alright then.”

By that evening Lay was moved into a really rather nice one bedroom apartment. Well, it was middle class nice, which was far nicer than his old studio apartment. Unfortunately he did not get to see Suho before he was moved out. This meant he wasn’t going to get to see him until Dean was caught.. 

Who knew how long that would be?

\--------

A full month passed and nothing happened. To say that Lay felt alone was a vast understatement. He was still in contact with most, but it was only through text messages. No phone calls, no video chats, and no face to face visits. 

Kyungsoo and Luhan would text Lay once a week to check in on him. Luhan always made sure he didn’t have anyone suspicious following him and Kyungsoo always made sure there was enough money in Lay’s bank account. 

Kai would text him once a week as well. But, the most recent time Lay continued the conversation a little more than usual. 

_Lay:_  
_When I can go back to the mansion.. Can you teach me how to use a gun?_

_Kai:_  
_… You serious?_

_Lay:_  
_Yes._

_Kai:_  
_Okay.. When you come back I’ll teach you._

That was the end of that conversation, but Lay was happy. He’d figured he wouldn’t feel as useless if he knew how to defend himself. But, this was assuming Kris would let him stick around the mansion after Dean was caught.

Baekhyun checked on him frequently and strangely enough sent him funny photos and videos of everyone at the mansion or even random memes he found on the internet. Lay always looked forward to Baekhyun’s text messages, it always guaranteed him a smile. 

Sehun often sent him links to various kinds of music or dance practice videos. He wasn’t exactly subtle in his attempts to get Lay to be a dancer once Dean was caught. But, Lay didn’t mind. Besides, learning the dances gave him something to do in his free time.

Tao didn’t text him too often, but he would check in with Lay much like the others. He would send Lay photos of Bora Bora and text him about plans for the vacation he assured Lay would happen.

Jongdae was someone he texted daily. He was starting to consider Jongdae to be his best friend at this point. He shared all of his thoughts with him. When Lay was down Jongdae would do everything he could to cheer him up, often times sending him links to videos of kittens or puppies. 

Now.. Suho. Lay knew he was in deep because every time his phone went off he’d jump and grab it in hopes it was Suho. Luckily Suho happened to text him daily. It may not be much, but Lay didn’t care. Often times it was Suho making sure Lay was eating properly and that he felt safe. Their text conversations never lasted long. But, Lay wished they did. 

One night Lay found himself in an emotional ditch. He missed everyone at the mansion. He felt so isolated and alone. He hated everything about this. So, while he was curled up in his bed he reached over for his phone, wincing at the bright screen as he opened up the text messages.

_Lay:_  
_I miss you_

Lay stared at the screen for what felt like an eternity, but really it was more like a minute. Then finally it showed that someone was typing.

_Suho:_  
_I miss you too._

Lay felt tears prick at his eyes as he stared at the screen for a while, unsure how to respond. His heart ached and he missed Suho more than anyone else at the mansion.

_Suho:_  
_Can I see you?_

Lay stared down at his phone in his hand and his forehead wrinkled in thought. He wasn’t allowed to physically see anyone lest someone be watching them. He wasn’t even allowed to video chat or even voice chat just in case someone somehow planted bugs into the apartment.

_Lay:_  
_How?_

_Suho:_  
_Do you have headphones?_

_Lay:_  
_Yes_

_Suho:_  
_Plug them in and be quiet. Okay?_

Lay quickly scrambled out of his bed and into the living room to grab his headphones off the counter and then run back into his bedroom. He fumbled with untangling the headphones before plugging them into phone and turning on his bedside lamp.

_Lay:_  
_Done_

It wasn’t long afterwards that Lay recieved a video call from Suho and he was probably far too quick to answer it. He grinned the second he saw Suho’s face. Suho wasn’t actually wearing a suit for once, although he was wearing a white button up shirt that was unbuttoned just enough to leave Lay feeling a little flustered. But, Suho’s smile drew his attention once again and he held up a finger to his lips, indicating for Lay to be a quiet. So, he quickly nodded in response.

Suho seemed to be sitting at his desk, it wasn’t a surprise he was working this late into the night. The man was a workaholic for certain. 

“Hey there.” Suho spoke and it took everything Lay had in him to not open his mouth and respond. But, he did hold his phone out a little further from him so Suho could see him wave at him. Suho let out a handsome chuckle at this, causing Lay’s grin to grow until it hurt. He missed Suho so much. “You’re cute when you smile.” The direct comment caught Lay by surprise and he tried to hide his smile as he looked down, feeling blush overtake his cheeks. Suho chuckled once more and Lay decided that if he could only hear one sound for the rest of his life it’d be his laugh.

“I take it you’re doing okay?” Suho asked and Lay nodded in response, not really able to go on about it. “I’m glad. I bet it’s nice being back into a familiar lifestyle and not around crime all the time.” Suho seemed sincere in his response, but Lay frowned. He missed everyone at the mansion. Especially Suho. 

Suho’s lips pursed together since it was far too obvious Lay disagreed with his statement by the way his smile gave way to a frown. “Well.. Hopefully you won’t have to be there for too long then. But, Lay.. Just to be honest with you, you would live longer if you weren’t involved with us. It’s just-”  
“ _Don’t_ ” Lay finally broke his silence, unable to listen to Suho go on about this. He hated the way Suho would push and pull with him. It wasn’t fair to him. 

Lay speaking up surprised Suho as his eyes widened. But, he took on a somber expression before nodding his head. He knew Lay couldn’t speak, so hopefully he wouldn’t push him any further. 

“Listen.. I do have things to go over but.. I want your presence..” Suho admitted, not taking his eyes off of his phone. Lay’s eyes widened this time, he was happy though. Suho wanted him around. “So, please indulge me. I won’t say much, if anything. So, you’re free to fall asleep. But.. If you don’t mind I’d like it if you kept the video on.” 

Lay could only nod at Suho’s request. He stopped leaning back against the headboard and adjusted himself so that he could lay on his side while holding the phone in front of his face. Suho warmly smiled at him as he sat his phone on his desk, propping it up against something and then looking back down at the papers in front of him. Occasionally Suho would look up from his work and give Lay a smile before going back to what he was doing. Lay’s eyes remained on the image of Suho the entire time. At least, until they got too heavy. 

The next day when Lay woke up he found that one of his headphones was out and his phone was dark since the video call ended. He looked and found that the call lasted three hours, which he only remembered about forty five minutes of it. But, there was also a text from Suho.

_Suho:_  
_You look so peaceful when you sleep. I wish we could do that more often._

\-------

A few days later Lay was walking home from the grocery store down the street with a few bags in his hands. He was almost to his apartment building, thankfully since his left hand was beginning to cramp.

“Do you need any help?”

Lay froze at the sound of a familiar voice, immediately tensing up. He slowly turned to find Dean standing behind him with a hand extended towards him. “I.. I think I’m good.” Lay responded, but then mentally kicked himself when he realized he needed to keep Dean occupied.

“Oh, come on.. I’m sorry for what happened the last time we met. That was just business. But, since you aren’t connected to Kris’s family anymore.. We can actually get to know each other, hm? You do still owe me a dance after all.” Dean offered with a growing grin on his face. Lay looked out at the street as he thought for the moment before he sighed in defeat. He held out his left hand and Dean quickly stepped up to grab the bags. 

“Come on then..” Lay muttered as he gestured to the apartment building’s door. Dean quickly climbed up the building’s steps as Lay grabbed his phone and sent a quick text to Chanyeol.

_Lay:_  
_Dean. Door is open._

After deleting the conversation completely he followed after Dean up the stairs, which Dean held the door open for him earning him a curt nod from Lay.

The elevator ride up was so very tense for the both of them, it’d be hard to not feel it. Lay could probably cut the tension with a knife. Once they got to his apartment Lay fumbled with his keys for a moment before unlocking the door and opening it for Dean and himself. Dean was quick to help himself into the apartment and set the bags on the table before he started going through them, presumably to help Lay put the groceries up.

“This is a nice place you got here. No offense, but how do you afford it?” Dean idly asked as Lay shut the door, without locking it.  
“Kris gives me hush money.” Lay quickly answered, hoping the excuse was believable.  
“Ah, that’s smart of him.” Dean responded and Lay let out a breath of relief.

The two quickly put the groceries away together and it was so strange for Lay to be this.. Well.. Everyday with Dean. It was like nothing happened. But, unfortunately now that the groceries were put up Dean’s attention was completely on Lay. 

Lay swallowed nervously as Dean approached him in his kitchen. He felt so trapped here. But, despite Dean getting in his personal space, he did not put a hand on Lay. He fought to catch Lay’s gaze as a more serious expression took hold of him. “Look, Lay. I am sorry for what happened between us. It really was just business. But, if you’d be alright with that.. I’d like to move past that.” It was strange how sincere he sounded to Lay. Either way, Lay knew he needed to stall for Chanyeol so he nervously nodded.

“Yeah.. Yeah. I’d be okay with that.” He responded with a heavy breath.  
“Do you want to check me for weapons? I can tell you’re still nervous.” Dean offered up as he held his hands up. Lay shook his head instead of taking him up on that offer.  
“No, it’s okay.”  
“Then may I..?” Dean asked as one of his hands went to Lay’s face, but stopped just short of touching him. Lay’s stomach was trying to cave in on itself but he still nodded.

Dean cupped Lay’s cheek and pulled him in for a kiss. Once again, Lay was taken aback by the brashness of Dean’s kiss. It felt rushed. But, he went along with it, even as he felt one of Dean’s hands grip onto his hip and start to play with the hem of his salmon colored shirt. 

Lay broke the kiss as he pulled his head back from Dean. He needed to get Dean out of the kitchen. If Dean didn’t have a weapon on him, he could easily get one in the kitchen. So, he slipped out from Dean’s grasp and walked out of the kitchen, stopping to look over his shoulder at the confused man in his kitchen. “I still owe you a dance, don’t I?” Lay asked as he continued into the living room. 

Dean was quick to follow him after that, his hand running along the small of Lay’s back as he passed by him to sit on the couch. Lay was praying Chanyeol was close, because he didn’t think he could keep this up much longer. He wa far too disgusted by Dean to be able to stomach this for too long. 

His hands dug into his pocket for his phone and he spent probably too long looking for a song to play. But, he picked one and once it began to play he sat his phone on the entertainment center before stepping closer to Dean, but still perfectly out of his reach. He kept his back to him as his hips began to pop side to side. His hands grabbed at the hem of his shirt as he slowly began to lift it up. 

Lay thought of Sehun and how he’d probably taunt his crowd. He could do this. No problem. 

Once the shirt was up past the mid of his back he looked over his shoulder at Dean before giving him a wink and letting it fall. The way Dean’s eyes widened actually made Lay laugh. Perhaps he would be good at this.

Suddenly the door to his apartment was opening and Lay immediately bounded across the room to his phone, turning off the music and keeping himself away from Dean. Lay watched Chanyeol walk into the apartment with a shotgun aimed right at Dean on the couch, who looked amused, but held his hands up anyways.

Lay was breathing a sigh of a relief as Baekhyun, Kai, and even Jongdae were flooding in the apartment with weapons drawn. But, the moment Jongdae saw Lay he crossed the room to check on him. “Are you okay?” He asked over the sounds of Chanyeol loudly giving orders to Dean. Lay was shaking now that it was all over. He couldn’t help but to give Jongdae a large hug, wanting to cry into his shoulder. “It’s okay. We’re here. It’s over.” Jongdae assured him.

_It’s over._

Lay finally pulled away from Jongdae, giving him a thankful nod as he watched Dean be unceremoniously dragged out of his apartment. He knew he just sentenced that man to death. But, honestly.. It was hard for him to be able to care too much. He felt bad, sure, but certainly not as bad as he should be feeling for condemning another human being to death. 

“We can go home now, Lay.” Jongdae told him with a large smile and a pat on the back. They were the only ones left in the apartment now. He pulled Jongdae closer to him by his army green hoodie before giving him another tight hug. He can go home. It was strange to hear that out loud. But, yes. He considered the mansion his home. The Wu family has become his family. It was strange to think that, but it was something he considered truth for a while now. 

“I think.. I think I’m going to stay here. Just for one more night. I can start packing things and have some time to process everything..” Lay told Jongdae, surprising both him and himself.  
“Are you sure? We can come back and help you.”  
“Yeah, I’m sure. I just need to be alone for another day.” He told Jongdae as he finally broke the hug for good now. He didn’t want to tell Jongdae that he needed to mentally prepare for the life of living with the mafia. 

“Okay, well.. You can call me now if you need anything.”  
“I will.” Lay assured Jongdae before he said his goodbyes and headed for the door. “Oh, Jongdae?” Immediately Jongdae stopped and looked back towards Lay with concern written on his face. “Thank you for being such a good friend to me.” He told him and a large smile spread across Jongdae’s lips.  
“Of course, Lay!” He said in that typically peppy tone before he stepped out of the apartment.

Lay loudly exhaled before he walked over to his couch and fell down onto it. He was hoping for a nap, but he groaned the moment he could smell Dean’s cologne. Alright, he needed a shower now. That and he needed to brush his teeth and use mouthwash. He was proud of himself for being able to stall Dean, but he was still sickened that Dean touched him again.

\--------

Dean was dragged into the meeting room and thrown in front of Kris and everyone else at the table by Chanyeol. Xiumin smirked when Dean seemed to think it was smartest to stay on his knees in front of the table. Everyone but Jongdae was in the room at the moment and everyone felt so satisfied that this little problem was going to shortly be solved.

“You were the witness for the feds.” Kris stated more than asked.  
“Sure. I was a lot of things.” Dean shrugged with a rather cocky tone. Even at death’s door he didn’t seem to falter. Dean’s eyes spotted Tao behind Kris and he openly laughed. “So, he’s yours?” Dean asked Kris with a bright grin.  
“I suggest you leave it be.” Kris practically growled his words.  
“Damn, I wish you would’ve seen the way he worked his magic on Lay.. I only can imagine what he did to get so close to the man with the heart of stone.” 

Kris’s fists balled up until his knuckles were white, but Tao’s hand went to rest on his shoulder to steady him. “You’re brave for a dead man.” Kris cooly stated as he tried to calm himself down. Once again Dean shrugged his shoulders.

“You and I are both aware we don’t have long lifespans. I always knew my life would end with a bullet to the skull. So.. Hurry up and get it over with.” Dean seemed so cocky at first, but now his confidence gave way to anger as a scowl took up residence on his face. 

“You don’t deserve the luxury of a swift death.” Jongdae’s voice echoed across the room as he walked through the large double doors. 

With an eyebrow quirked Dean turned to find Jongdae carrying a baseball bat with barbed wire wrapped around it. It was a little something Chanyeol let him borrow. There was a moment where fear could be registered on Dean’s face as he looked back at Kris. Kris simply gave him a smug smirk before he spoke up without breaking eye contact from Dean. 

“Remember what they say, Jongdae. No body, no crime.” 

\------

That night after supper Lay was doing as he told Jongdae, packing up some of his stuff. He was certain he was making the right choice by choosing to embrace the Wu family. But, he knew his parents wouldn’t be proud of him. 

Well.. They weren’t here anymore. So, they couldn’t be disappointed in him. Maybe that was the one bonus of their deaths. 

A knock on the apartment door just about made Lay jump right out of his skin. He put his hand over his heart, as if that would steady it, before he got up to slowly go to the door. He looked through the peephole to see who it was before immediately unlocking it and opening it up. 

The door was just barely open before Lay was moving past it to embrace the man at the door. “Suho..” He muttered his name as his arms wrapped around him probably too tightly. But, this was the first time he was getting to see him in over a month. Well, not counting that one video call. 

Suho was holding his hands up from the suddenness of the embrace, but slowly his arms wrapped around Lay. Lay wasn’t sure how long they stood there like that before he finally realized they were in the public hallway. Anyone could walk out of their apartment and see them. It’d probably be awkward. So, he pulled away and gestured for Suho to enter the apartment before shutting and locking the door behind him; a force of habit he told himself.

Suho examined the apartment for a few moments before turning back to Lay. “I haven’t seen you since you lied to Kris.” His voice was soft, but his blunt words made Lay flinch.  
“Yeah..” He muttered as he nervously scratched the back of his head.

“I wanted to know why you did it. Why risk lying to him?” Suho was straight to the point then, alright. 

Lay took in a deep breath through his nose before he walked deeper into the living room to be a little closer to Suho. “I’ve already bled for this family Suho.. I wasn’t going to let Kai get hurt because he was trying to protect someone he loved.” Lay explained himself as he met Suho’s heavy gaze. 

The expression on Suho’s face was something Lay couldn’t decipher. He looked surprised and maybe a little angry. But, there was something else there.. Respect? No, that certainly wasn’t it. It made Lay very nervous, whatever it was.

“You said yourself, you’d do anything for your family. I understand that now. They’re my family too.” Lay continued on in his nervousness and that unknown emotion took over Suho’s expression. He felt like he did something wrong and he was even more nervous now. Suho must think he was foolish. Some dumb boy that didn’t know what he was getting himself into. Lay wouldn’t blame him if he did think that.

Suddenly Suho was closing the distance between them with purpose. Truthfully Lay was scared of him in this moment. He still did not understand the expression on his face and he was afraid he angered him somehow, so he tensed up. But, when Suho was right in front of him a gentle hand cupped his face and pulled him into a kiss. 

Lay melted from Suho’s touch.

All the tension and all the fear fled from him as Suho’s soft lips gently pressed against his own. His lips pressed back and Suho’s free hand went to cup Lay’s other cheek. One of Lay’s hands went to rest on Suho’s shoulder while another reached up to lightly press his fingertips against Suho’s neck, feeling his pulse. His heart was racing as fast as his own. 

Suho’s head tilted as his tongue ran across Lay’s bottom lip, asking for permission. Sure enough, Lay’s lips parted and he allowed Suho to deepen the kiss further. 

_This._ This was exactly what he wanted. The men were both taking their time with each other. There was no need to rush this. Suho’s touch was so firm but so gentle at the same time. It was reassuring and exactly what Lay was hoping for from him. This was proof Suho could be tender and gentle, but he could be strong when necessary. 

Lay’s hand gripped tighter onto Suho’s shoulder, not wanting him to pull away, as his other hand snaked around his neck and into his hair. It wasn’t as soft as he’d like it to be, but there was product in it, so he shouldn’t be surprised. One of Suho’s hands abandoned Lay’s face and went to one of his hips, pulling Lay against him as the kiss got more needy. 

Blissful moments passed before Suho was the one to break the kiss to catch his breath. But, Lay was certainly not done with him. He needed more contact with Suho. So, his lips leaned back in to press against his jawline before he peppered kisses down to his neck. Suho tilted his head back, allowing Lay to have access, as the hand that was on Lay’s face moved to rest on the back of Lay’s head. 

It wasn’t long before Lay was sucking a dark mark onto Suho’s skin. Much to his surprise, Suho let him. Once he finished leaving a hickey on his skin he pressed another few kisses against Suho’s neck before burying his face in between his neck and shoulder. “You’re mine now.” Lay thought his voice was firm, but since he was burying his face it was muffled and sounded more like a protesting child. It was enough to earn him one of Suho’s handsome laughs. 

“Are you sure, Lay?” Suho asked as he took a half step backwards, forcing Lay to look at him. Lay was quick to nod his head.  
“Yes. I don’t want anyone else. And.. I don’t want you to want anyone else.” Lay told him, hoping he was being as clear as he possibly could with Suho. Suho simply gave him another one of those warm smiles before leaning in to press a quick kiss against his lips.

In this moment Lay found Suho to be distracted. Once he pulled back he was mostly looking behind Lay and not at him. His eyebrows furrowed, worried that Suho didn’t want the same thing that he did. But, Suho did once again meet his gaze and gave him another warm smile. He grabbed Lay’s hand and pulled him towards the bedroom door. Lay’s heart stuttered when he realized that’s what Suho was thinking about just now. But, he swallowed and followed after. 

The door to his bedroom was silently opened before it was closed behind the two. Suho quickly recaptured Lay’s lips in another deep kiss. Lay tugged on Suho’s white button up, quickly undoing one of the bottom buttons. The men fumbled towards the bed and Lay was steadily unbuttoning Suho’s shirt. By the time his legs bumped into the side of the bed he managed to unbutton all of the buttons and he forced the shirt over Suho’s shoulders and the man dropped his shoulders and arms back so the shirt would fall off of his arms. 

It was then that Suho broke the kiss once again. 

Lay’s eyes opened and immediately dropped down to take in Suho’s form. He was amazed by how toned he was, despite not looking like it over his clothes. He bit at his bottom lip as one of his hands reached out to rest against his toned stomach, feeling the muscle underneath his fingertips. Suddenly the muscle tensed and became much more visible for a moment.

Did he.. Did he just flex his muscles?

“Lay.” 

Lay’s hungry eyes quickly looked up to Suho’s gaze. He looked serious as always and Lay wanted to groan in irritation. “Hey, focus.” Suho said as his hand cupped Lay’s neck. Lay blinked a few times as he focused in on Suho’s gaze once again. “Green means go, red means stop. Where are you at?” 

It took Lay a moment to understand what he was saying. _Oh._ He was looking for consent. Okay, okay. He could work with that. That was respectful. Right?

Lay didn’t really care if that was respectful at the moment. He would later love that about Suho. But, right now all he wanted was Suho. He grabbed Suho by the waist and sat him on the edge of the bed. “Green.” He said before he gave Suho another hungry kiss. This time however, he was pressing Suho back into the bed so he was leaning over the top of him. Lay wasn’t letting this opportunity pass him by. So, his typically rare aggressive nature was taking over. He needed Suho and he needed him now.

\----

Suho’s phone went off several times in the night, but every time he ignored it. The first few times Lay didn’t give him much of a choice since he was keeping Suho occupied. But, later when the two were trying to sleep, Suho still didn’t bother to answer his phone. 

That morning when the couple were both awake they were lazily lounging in bed, neither wanting to be the one to say they should wake up. Suho was laid back with an arm around Lay, who was curled up against him. Lay’s fingers were idly running along Suho’s bare chest as Lay tried to remind himself that this was very real. 

“Suho?” Lay’s voice was tired and scratchy, which wasn’t really a surprise.  
“Hm?”  
“This wasn’t a one time thing, right?” The thought that was gnawing at Lay all morning finally came out. Suho’s arm that was around Lay held onto him a bit tighter.  
“Only if you want it to be.” 

Lay did not like that answer.

“What do you want it to be?”  
“I don’t want it to be a one time thing. I’m.. Admittedly not good with flings.” Lay snorted as he tried to hold back a giggle at Suho’s honesty. It just seemed so funny to think that the emotionally distant one was into anything other than short flings. But.. Maybe that’s why he wasn’t into them. He’d didn’t want to waste his time.  
“Sorry. I just.. I didn’t expect you to be into relationships to be honest. But, I’m glad you are. Because I want one with you.” Lay explained as he tilted his head upwards so he could look at Suho. A smile was slowly making an appearance on his face as he looked down at Lay.

There were a couple of minutes of silence between them before Suho started to stir. “Kris is going to kill me.” He groaned as he tried to finally untangle himself from Lay, even with Lay groaning and whining the entire time. 

_Great. I sound like Tao._ Lay thought to himself as he pulled the blankets up to his shoulders once Suho left the bed with his warmth. His eyes watched Suho cross the bedroom to fish the phone out of his pant’s pocket. Suho frowned immediately when the phone’s screen lit up. Seems like Kris was probably pissed at him. But, Suho wandered back to the bed to join Lay back in it. He sat up and leaned against the headboard as Lay quickly cuddled against him once again.

“How dead are you?”  
“Let’s find out.”

With that Suho began to call Kris.  
_Where are you?!_

Lay flinched when he heard Kris’s voice over the phone. Yet, Suho seemed unphazed. 

“I’m at Lay’s apartment.”  
_What?!_  
“I stayed the night.” 

Lay looked up at Suho with slightly wide eyes, amazed he was that honest about it. Kris must’ve calmed down because Lay couldn’t hear him anymore.

“Yeah. I can get on that this afternoon while the others help Lay move back in. I’ll also send Lay to see you then.” Shortly after that Suho hung up and sat his phone to the side. Lay tightly wrapped his arms around Suho as he looked up at him. This drew a laugh from Suho. “If you let me up I’ll cook you breakfast.”

“Fine.” Lay groaned and rolled over to the other side of the bed and once again Suho got out of the bed, much to his dismay. 

\-----------

“Okay.. So, I didn’t expect you and Suho to-”  
“Lay! You caught Suho!! I have never been more proud of my child in my entire life.” Kris tried to talk to Lay privately, but Tao was there so it quickly derailed as Tao went to hug Lay far too tightly.  
“I think I’m older than you..” Lay reminded him as he patted Tao’s back in an attempt to get him off of him.  
“Doesn’t matter.” Tao responded before he finally let go of Lay. “So.. Suho? How-”  
“Tao. Enough.” Kris tried to take control of the conversation back once again. 

Tao finally pulled away from Lay completely to go stand by Kris once again as Lay rubbed his forehead, a blush was on his cheeks. “Okay, it looks like you’ll be living with us regardless. So long as you and Suho are together. But, I want to make you an offer, Lay.” Kris tried to keep them on topic now. Lay nodded as he waited for Kris to continue. It was strange how Kris was less intimidating when Tao was around him. The two really balanced each other out.

“We could use an actual surgeon here. Someone who can stitch us up after a fight. Xiumin is pretty good at it and Baekhyun can manage. But, there’s a line they can’t even cross. Like removing bullets, for example. Kyungsoo and I talked it over, we want to pay your way to finish medical school. So long as you continue to work for us. And Luhan would still like to have you around as a spy from time to time.”

Lay was slack jawed as Kris spoke. But, he was wildly nodding his head in agreement. “Yes! Yeah. Thank you. I can do that!” Lay was excited to be able to actually achieve one of his dreams. Maybe his parents would be proud of him after all.

“Listen, Lay. Don’t make me be a parent to you. You best keep high grades. I only keep the best of the best around.” Kris told him, probably to try and bring Lay back to reality. But, Lay was always a good student. He could actually do this. 

“I won’t let you down! I can go back and register for classes now.” Lay said as he stood up, extremely eager about all of this.  
“Go see Kyungsoo then and work with him.” 

\------

Soon enough, Lay was back in school. He’d go to school and then go back to the mansion and destress. But, he spent his evenings with Suho in his office studying while Suho was going over things for Kris. The two enjoyed each other’s company and the comfortable silence between them. Their nights were blissful as they often helped each other forget about the stress of their lives. 

Lay was fitting right into the family as time passed. Kai kept his word and taught Lay how to handle a gun every weekend and he became a decent shot. But, he had a good teacher. What once was so terrifying about everyone became every day. Chanyeol showing up with cuts and bruises became so normal. In fact Lay secretly looked forward to the slightly minor wounds because he’d practice his stitching on Chanyeol. Turns out, he was a natural at it. His hands were always quick and steady, something even Xiumin lacked. Xiumin’s hands were always steady, but he was not quick at all. 

Better yet? He got paid for each time he doctored someone up. Even if it was really only simple things he could do so far. Kris made sure Kyungsoo compensated him. 

When Lay did have any free time he would work with Luhan. He’s become a better liar, with strangers anyways. He still would feel instant regret if he tried to practice his lies on the family. 

Lay was nothing more than an associate, much like Tao or Sehun. But, he was beginning to be confident in himself just like Tao and Sehun. He was very good at what he did and he knew it. He truly felt like he belonged with this family. 

If nothing else, Lay knew he belonged in Suho’s arms every night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whelp! This is the last chapter. I hope you enjoyed it! But, their stories aren't necessarily over. I have a little more in mind and will end up making this a series. 
> 
> Stick around for that. I'll be writing a one off that's been stuck in my mind for a while before I get onto the additions to this story though. But, Sheep Among Wolves will be back!


End file.
